Search - Rick James :: Come Get It

Making It Good In Hollywood...

David Wayne | Santee, CA United States | 05/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was a sunny day in 1978. I'd been reading in Billboard about two new acts that Motown was touting. I went down to Tower Records and picked up the debut albums from Switch and Rick James. I was not disappointed. Motown's aim was to grab the attention of younger record buyers. Stevie Wonder was more mature, and even The Commodores suddenly went M-O-R. This was the ticket. This did the trick! Rick James was everything that Motown wasn't, up to this time. He was loud. He was controversial. He was (very) high, most of the time. He was over-the-top FUNKY! This auspicious debut was a near-perfect synthesis of funk and rock. Black kids (like me) loved it, but White kids could also get into it. "You And I" took over the radio waves that summer. "Mary Jane," Rick's Ode to Herb, was another out-of-the-box smash. And Rick could really sing, as on the ballads, "Dream Maker" and "Hollywood." You could tell that he was a creative force to be reckoned with (and if you couldn't, the next album, "Bustin' Out Of L-Seven," was the convincer)! Rick James sold millions of records, discovered Teena Marie, became one of the hottest producers of his day (including work with The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Eddie Murphy, and The Mary Jane Girls), and was a major concert attraction, too. But I have to say his career (as a whole) was disappointing to me. Rick James had the talent to be on top of the show business world for decades. His troubles with the law are well-known. I feel he took too much for granted, wasted too much time, and squandered too much talent. Sly Stone was a big, big influence for Rick James, but Rick definitely didn't learn from Sly's crash and slow burn. I hope Rick is recovering from his stroke. I hope he can someday come back and thrill the world anew."

In the 70s, you could count on three things...

yygsgsdrassil | Crossroads America | 03/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"1) No road rage of any kind because evvyone drove a hooptie.2) A drug dealer in the 'hood was more like Huggy Bear, not Pacino in "Scarface".3) Evvything Rick James would put out was bound to be funky and soulful....Relive the 70s with this original from Slick Rick James."

RICK JAMES FOREVER

hank | Shanghai, China | 03/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Come Get It and Bustin' Out of L-Seven are both masterpieces. The musical arrangements are phenomenal, the songs are loooong and funky as hell, the lyrics are priceless and Rick exudes confidence. Rick's early stuff is undoubtedly his best. I've listened to Rick James for 20 years and I never tire of these two titles."