Machine Gun (1974)
Before the Commodores started having major adult contemporary hits like “Three Times a Lady,” “Easy,” and “Still,” they were happy to be a full-time funk/soul band. The Southerners became increasingly pop-minded in the late ’70s, but when their debut album, Machine Gun, came out in 1974, their music was unapologetically gritty. This was, without question, a very promising debut — Lionel Richie and his allies really hit the ground running on sweaty funk items like “Young Girls Are My Weakness,” “The Bump,” “Gonna Blow Your Mind,” and the single “I Feel Sanctified.” These songs aren’t funk-pop or sophisticated funk — they’re hardcore funk. What you won’t find on Machine Gun are a lot of sentimental love ballads. In the late ’70s, the Commodores became as famous for their ballads as they were for their funk and dance material, but believe it or not, there are no ballads to be found on this consistently funky, mostly up-tempo debut. As much as this LP has going for it, Machine Gun isn’t the Commodores’ best or most essential album. Machine Gun is rewarding, but their subsequent albums Caught in the Act (1975), Movin’ On (1975), and Hot on the Tracks (1976) are even stronger. (AMG)
Tracks:
1. Machine Gun
2. Young Girls Are My Weakness
3. I Feel Sanctified
4. The Bump
5. Rapid Fire
6. The Assembly Line
7. The Zoo (The Human Zoo)
8. Gonna Blow Your Mind
9. There’s a Song in My Heart
10. Superman
**Listen**
The Commodores – Machine Gun (1974)
Julio 16, 2009 a 3:22 pm (Funk, R&B, Soul Funk)
James Brown Feat: Bobby Byrd & The JB’s – Funky Men (1997)
Julio 16, 2009 a 1:36 pm (Funk)
Funky Men (1997)
As James Brown worked with a stable of talented female singers, so he also allied himself with the best and brightest funky men in the business. This imported single disc collects those men and their classic songs in a nice, tight package that rounds up a lot of difficult to find (or even remember) material from his years with the TK label. While the bulk of the disc focuses on the mid- to late-’70s material of Bobby Byrd and the J.B.’s in particular, it hinges around the seminal 1980 “Rap Payback (Where Iz Moses?)” — the song that opens and closes (with the 14-minute remix version) Funky Men. Released late in the year, it is a winning combination of funk mixed with a little proto-rap and, although it failed to make much of a splash in the U.S., where rap was rising thanks to Fatback Band’s “King Tim III” and the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rappers Delight,” it did quite well in the U.K. charts. An additional highlight is the incredible funk groove of Byrd’s “Back From the Dead” — a solo venture recorded after he had parted company with Brown. Elsewhere, the contemporary, sharp disco of “Just Wanna Make You Dance, Pt. 1,” by the J.B.’s featuring Maxxi, and the quiet groove of the J.B.’s Internationals’ “Nature, Pts. 1 & 2? round out the mix nicely. And, of course, no compilation would be complete without a dance or two. Brown, Byrd, and the J.B.’s teamed up for a jamming 1980s rehash of “Mashed Potatoes,” which finds its way on board as well. Although it can be argued that Brown’s earlier collaborations are his best, this is still a solid collection of late-in-the-day hits that have been cruelly overlooked in recent years. (AMG)
Tracks:
1. Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses?)
2. Honky Tonk
3. Rock Groove Machine, Pt. 1
4. The Way to Get Down
5. (Do the) Mashed Potatoes
6. Funky Men
7. Smokin’ & Drinkin’
8. Bessie, Pt. 1
9. Just Wanna Make You Dance, Pt. 1
10. Headquarters (Augusta, GA)
11. Back from the Dead
12. Nature, Pts. 1 & 2
13. Stay With Me
14. Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses?) [Remix]
**Listen**
