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Tannenbaum, send me an email via ILX usermail and tell me what albums you had lined up, if we happen to have chosen the same album(s) I can always change my picks.

I'll just post this now...

Chairmen of the Board - Skin I'm In (1974)
http://www.akuma.de/images/ccover/dri000/i012/i01282zo58z.jpg
http://open.spotify.com/album/5zKiTlGl3QQBZZWowNwN5I

The Chairmen's final LP is a lost gem that's light years away from their previous smooth r&b crooning. Arranged by Jeffrey Bowen, who, from what I can tell, is the common link between Parliament-Funkadelic, Sly & the Family Stone, and several projects that drew on members of both bands to provide backing material for other artists (including the Temptations' LPs "Wings of Love" and "A Song For You"). I am not sure who all from P-Funk shows up on this record, apart from Bill "Bass" Nelson and Bernie Worrell, whose contributions are both readily identifiable. I am also unclear as to how the trilogy that closes side A (Life and Death in G &A Pt 1/White Rose (Freedom Flower)/Life and Death Pt 2) and is credited to Sly Stone made it from Sly's hands into those of P-Funk and the Chairmen of the Board, but I would guess that Bowen was involved. George and Sly both being absent here, this album is proof that the lesser-known guys in both the Family Stone and P-Funk were capable of some seriously amazing and hard-hitting stuff. I love this record.

James Brown - The Payback (1973)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/40/Jb-the-payback.jpg/200px-Jb-the-payback.jpg
http://open.spotify.com/album/7mMYTdDQ1UOw9j4vG3tCPs

The rejected soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Hell Up in Harlem (because it wasn't "being James Brown enough" o_0). I consider this the apex of James Brown's studio LP output. Prior to the early 70s the majority of James Brown's LPs are an incoherent mess, slapped together affairs often taken from different sessions with entirely different bands, with no consideration given to consistency of tone or content, but nevertheless containing tons of amazing material. But around about 1970, Brown began something of a melodramatic 180, and proceeded to issue a series of "concept" records that were built around specific themes, complete with interludes, monologues, and long, seemingly endless grooves. The Payback is the best of these by a wide margin - even the two ballads are good - and the band (under the direction of Fred Wesley) was on fire throughout. Everybody knows the opening track and can quote favorite lines ("I don't know karate/but I know ka-razy!") but the real standout here to me is the final song, "Mind Power", which synthesizes everything that was ever great about James Brown into a delirious, hypnotic, zen-buddhist-by-way-of-the-Deep-South meditation on the nature of consciousness and reality.

Dr. John - Desitively Bonaroo (1974)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/64/Doctorjohn.jpg/200px-Doctorjohn.jpg
http://open.spotify.com/album/4sdOFqfNcL5ge657ScJDXn

The lesser known "sequel" to his huge hit "In the Right Place" album and using pretty much the same exact formula and band, except that this time around I think the songs are actually better. No funk thread would be complete without acknowledging the contributions of New Orleans and specifically the axis of the Meters/Allen Toussaint, who provide most of the tunes and backing here, perfectly complimented by Dr. John's bizarro croak-n-drawl. This is pretty far from the way out sonics of "Dr. John the Night Tripper", but it marks the end of his "golden age" transition from psych-swamp-blues guru to Rolling Stones-confidante to party-funk frontman. After this his music gradually became more and more alternately conservative and jazzy, as he came to be a kind of standard-bearer for preserving New Orleans' musical heritage.

Chairmen Of The Board were the band I was talking about earlier btw

Got your mail, Tannenbaum, we haven't picked any of the same albums. Both of your choices are albums I've been meaning to check out for a long time though, so it'll be nice if you'll introduce them here, as it'll give me an excuse to listen to them.

And yes i know all 3. Classics all of them.

and the trilogy shakey talks about is the greatest trilogy in all music

dude I think you broke my hyperbolemeter

skin i'm in is a fabulous record

I have the 2xCD with Bittersweet on it (its also on Spotify) and its desert island discs stuff. I recommend you listen to both.

may I suggest editing the title of this thread to make it more generic...

i like the payback a lot.

that's short-selling War imho

Wasn't my intention at all: I think "War's Greatest Hits" is one of the most enjoyable LPs imaginable! And War are probably the band most similar to Mandrill that i can think of. But Mandrill were a bit more eccentric/eclectic/experimental/erratic/whatever than War. Similar to Funkadelic doing weird experiments while the Ohio Players achieved actual hit singles.

I have a fair bit of James Brown, but had assumed he'd gone off the boil by '73. NOT SO, THIS IS AWESOME! A+ album, dancing around my spreadsheets of a Tuesday morning.

the payback is all-time classic

Indeed, most people would say it is his best album.

best studio album perhaps, though part of me prefers hot pants - certainly the cd reissue with the full take of 'escape-ism'

Yep, it's a good'un. All-original too, unlike a lot of his '70s doubles.

"I don't know karate but I know ka-raaaaazy!"

Klassik

Desitively Bonnaroo is dope, my go-to/most-played Dr. John.

certainly the cd reissue with the full take of 'escape-ism'

haha I was listening to this last night and marvelling at my inability to grasp like 90% of what James Brown is talking/rambling about on that song. would love to see a transcription

Trying to get down, yeah, yeah
well, you know
look here, we can't help it
that's right
[incomprehensible], yeah
It ain't no alocohol, man I don't dig it
what you say Jason?
I say, don't be soe mean
you know I'm clean
yeah
[incomprehensible]

It's about the birth of a norwegian dude

don't think I'm gonna bother trying to compile a list of songs sampling "The Payback". I'm unaware of any Chairmen of the Board samples... there are some interesting Dr. John ones though (Marley Marl's "Cheatin' Days Are Over" samples "Stealin'" iirc)

Sam is in charge of samples

War are probably the band most similar to Mandrill that i can think of. But Mandrill were a bit more eccentric/eclectic/experimental/erratic/whatever than War. Similar to Funkadelic doing weird experiments while the Ohio Players achieved actual hit singles.

ah yeah I can see that. War and Mandrill do both favor those latin/jazz shadings, it was just that War had the hits.

Chairmen of the Board - it's alright. I like the ?electric organ (i think)? sound on a couple of the songs but nothing is really standing out.

not sure what yr thinking of specifically - Bernie plays a lot of Mellotron on this album iirc

Maybe thats what I'm thinking of, sorry. I'm not very good at picking out instruments, even kinda loathed specific instrument pieces (hi dere maggot brain) so it all just kinda blends in for me until i should actually think about whatever.

The complaint people were making about Mandrills - i.e. no hooks - I would apply here. I v. much enjoyed it while listening to it but I don't really remember it and nothing really hooked me to go back. Slowburner.gif I guess.

have always wondered what those 'steel drum'-sounding melodic percussion parts in 'life & death pt 2', around the 1 minute mark, actually were...

Sounds like a kalimba or a mbira or some other form of thumb piano to me.

Bt, I'm really digging the Chairmen of the Board album, thanks to Shakey for introducing it! I remember seeing that album in a local record store years ago, but the cover pic made me think it was something completely different, so I never gave it a try. I'll try to writer a lengthier analysis later on.

What I'd like to know, though, is what is that odd, slightly metallic rhythmic sound playing throughout "Let's Have Some Fun"? You know what I'm talking about if you listen to the song, it really stands out. Is that just an electric guitar played through a filter, or some odd percussion instrument?

Sounds like a kalimba or a mbira or some other form of thumb piano to me.

^^^yep, that is definitely not a mellotron lolz

will have to listen to Let's Have Some Fun hang on a second

even kinda loathed specific instrument pieces (hi dere maggot brain)

you are dead to me

oh that's an electric gtr+wah wah for sure

xp

he's doing a chicken scratch pattern while rapidly opening and closing the wah-wah pedal's filter

"I don't know karate but I know ka-raaaaazy!"

Ka-razor. JB is gonna cut you.

Ok, I kinda thought it might be, but it sounds somewhat different than any other wah wah I've heard.

(xx-post)

Ah, I see, thanks for the info Shakey!

And I have to say I completely disagree with Sam - the instrumental bits are what make Skin I'm In sound so good to me. Even if there's some superficial similarity to the Mandrill album, the playing here is definitely tighter and the sound more innovative.

What's the deal with the endings to the songs on The Payback? (the strings thing) Not sure if this is making sense, and I'm not opposed to their existence, just wondering what their reason for being is...?

James Brown never had an idea he didn't enjoy repeating ad nauseam

on the vinyl they're just interludes between the songs on each side, like aural dividers. fairly pointless but hey when James Brown gets an idea he doesn't let go of it

thanks Shakey--the vinyl explains it. My problem is I'm listening on Lala, so they just sound kind of bizarre.

also, "Mind Power" is amazing. And I just saw the documentary "Soul Power" which I recommend to any JB fan. there's not enough footage of the performances (especially by Franco and Tabu Ley Rochereau), but it's still pretty great.

Spotify doesnt have the dr john title track because the artist/label wanted it removed. wtf?

I'll just need to borrow my mates cd then

that's odd. I do know Dr. John has one of those "my manager(s) screwed me and released stuff against my will and I had to sue them" kinda debacles in his past, maybe it's related.

its quite common on Spotify though

some people dont like their most famous songs being available for free but dr john has way more known songs available on Spotify. Maybe someone collaborated with him on it and they object?

for the future on these album listening threads, can we link both spotify and lala for the amurricuns among us?

Shakey is amurricun, And im guessing non americans cant provide links to it. Shakey only got spotify links because he asked me for them.