ISSUE 19 - CD REVIEWS

James Brown
In the Jungle Groove

Speaking mainly from personal experience, for a long time this was a tough album to get on CD. Whether it was just not on CD, or printed in limited quantities, going to music stores and asking if they could get In The Jungle Groove by James Brown on CD ended with being told, No, we only have it in cassette.
The best general description of the album is provided by Cliff White in the liner notes: “This is not for the feckless or fainthearted. What you hold here is a funk bomb, primed to vaporize lethargy. A compound of full-length, full-strength masterfunk. An hour or so of GET UP and go. The jungle groove.”
Amen. Anyone (which is almost everyone) who is familiar with his more well known classic work of the early 60s will recognize certain familiar characteristics of the music. The staccato punctuations of the horn section, James’ grunts and yells, and the funky guitar chording in the background. The tracks on this album however signify a change in Brown’s music by the late 60s to a fuller, more driving sound that centered around a more dynamic and aggressive playing of the drums, organ, and bass. That sound would pre-figure Brown’s own movement into what could be called his “heavy funk” of the 1970s, as well as the music of groups like Parliament and the disco era in general.
The album is actually a collection of various tracks recorded between 1969 and 1972 for various albums, some of which were never actually issued before the release of In The Jungle Groove. This new CD version also features a bonus track, “Blind Man Can See It,” also previously unreleased, that was recorded for the 1973 film Black Caesar. On many of the tracks Brown’s vocals are sparse. Overall the album is more a showcase of his amazing backing band that featured bassist Bootsy Collins, tenor saxophonist Maceo Parker, organist Bobby Byrd, and drummer Clyde Stubblefield, among others.
There are two versions of “Funky Drummer,” one is about nine minutes long and the other is a shorter “Bonus Beat Reprise” of about two and a half minutes. The longer version is laid back and mellow with Brown singing, and reminding everyone that he is also an accomplished organist as he plays jazzy chord vamps and melodic fills. The shorter version is immediately recognizable to anyone who ever listened to Public Enemy’s album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back It’s two and a half minutes of relentless, unaccompanied drumming with James asking, “Ain’t it funky?”
“Relentless” is an apt word for most of the album, “Give It Up or Turnit A Loose” and “Talking Loud and Sayin’ Nothing” are unstoppable freight trains of rhythm. So is “Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved” but midway through the band adds a taste of the “acid rock” (a la Hendrix) that was popular at the time. Although Brown’s vocals are minimal, on this song he does manage to invoke a call for social activism and independence when he says things like, “You can be like a tape deck you know, they can plug you in and say what they want you to say. Don’t let’em do it!” The songs “It’s a New Day” and “Hot Pants” are odes to the sexual power of women, and simultaneously a call for female independence and assertiveness. “Blind Man Can See It” is basically an instrumental, but James can be heard to say, “I don’t want no welfare, I just want a good job so I can fare well.” In short, the political atmosphere of the time in question permeates the album, but not to the point of being overtly preachy and detracting from the good time.
Two other words properly describe this album, the first is obvious, funky. Anyone who needs an explanation of this concept need only buy the album, the music will explain all. The second word, perhaps not so obvious but equally important, is tight. As a whole, the album is a collection of extended jams and, with the exception of the “Funky Drummer” reprise, no song on the album is less than six minutes long. But the word “jam” can often invoke the idea of musicians fooling around, playing haphazardly and going off on tangents. But there is no fooling around here, a careful listen will reveal that Brown and company are consummate professionals who are playing both together, and off of, one another to create the unified musical freight train mentioned above. Slower numbers like “I Got To Move” and “Soul Power” suddenly, in a jazz like fashion, change tempo and melody, but every member of the band is in step and on time, acting as part of a whole. These compositions are soulful and funky of course, but they are compositions in the same sense as the best of the Beatles or Beethoven.
For this reason it is a great album for any aspiring musician to learn from, by listening to and playing along with. Other than that it is a great album for any James Brown fan or anyone who enjoys fun, exciting and captivating music. In The Jungle Groove represents some of the best of American R&B music, and for that matter some the best American music ever made, period. Anyone listening to this CD who doesn’t at least feel the urge to get up and move might want to check their pulse to make sure they are not dead. As James himself says on the album, “If you got any kind of soul you got to feel it.”

- Ron Odom




Chin Up Chin Up

Perhaps easily sounding more like a lateral move from the band’s first album, this harness can’t ride anything, is louder and heavier on the jangling melodies. Singer Jeremy Bolen sings above the hoarse murmur of previous vocals and succeeds even while memories of his raspy affect linger on. It’s as if he’s moved beyond reproach, beyond sadness. The hangover’s over and the break up is irrelevant and his voice has lifted.




The title track is a splendid mix of soft melody and reverberating guitar. ‘Islands Sink’ drives along like an ancient R.E.M. track, mixing playful guitar with cracking, drowning vocals. ‘Mansioned’ is a surprise, bringing out school boy harmonica between stratified vocals and simple keyboards. ‘Landlocked Lifegaurds’ adds beautiful female harmonies in-between a fast circular drum beat. ‘Stolen Mountains’ trods along, spoken words like a gentle whisper. It moves like a slow build that moves to a funky drum beat combined with xylophone that speeds up only to fall to silence.
This record is half shy and half noticeable. It manages to keep up the energy while retaining atmosphere. It is reminiscent of bands found on the I.R.S. label, blending guitar sounds instead of guitar licks.
Much like The Strokes second release, Chin Up Chin Up have delivered a solid album worthy of repeat spins but there’s something missing. Its upbeat sound belies the moodiness and reserve of their first release. The flip side is that there’s the hint of growth and for any band to further themselves this is key. Refined and energetic, this sophomore release is anything but forgettable.

- Brian Tucker