Short, sharp and frank reviews from a confessed vinyl junkie. I’ll be posting my most loved records and most recent purchases right here for your perusal every week.
Reissue of The Godfather’s 34th studio album. October 1st sees the beginning of Black History Month, so it only feels right to celebrate this album and my love of this man’s music along with Black music in general.
Soul music was the first music I was introduced to and intrigued by as a child. I remember my parents playing Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder all the time in our house when I was growing up, and I instantly fell in love with it. I would sit listening to their record collections as a small child with my headphones plugged into the massive deck they used to have (this was the early 80s), taking all the grooves, shifting rhythms and beautiful voices in whilst reading the lyrics, cover to cover.
Soul was just the right fit for me. It felt right from a very early age. Off The Wall was my very first ‘favourite record’ (it’s still up there now), and then Thriller came along and blew my 8-year-old mind. Around this time, I was introduced to Electro and early Hip Hop through my love of breakdancing, so you could say that Black music has been an integral part of my life.
I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it. It’s helped to shape the way I think and not to mention what I do for a living. The mid-80s were an amazing time for Hip Hop (the beginning of the Golden Era), and I was introduced to James Brown via Public Enemy and Eric B & Rakim. James Brown has since become my favourite ever artist. I’m not going to say he didn’t have his issues, he certainly did, but his music is quite literally life-changing.
A lot of people often write him off as the guy who just muttered, shouted, screamed and danced a lot (he did do all of those things) but don’t realise just how talented a musician, writer, producer and arranger he was too. Get On The Good Foot was originally released in 1972, which was right in the middle of James Brown’s most creative and superior era. It’s not just a Funk album; it incorporates Blues, Jazz, and harks back to his earlier Soul ballads. John ‘Jabo’ Starks, Fred Wesley and John Thomas feature in his ever-evolving backing band and sound as tight as ever.
In short, James Brown and his band epitomised everything great about Black music, the rhythms and the outstanding vocals that will forever stand the test of time. Happy Black History Month x
Listen to James Brown – Get On The Good Foot – BELOW:
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