After watching the Soul Survivor documentary earlier this week, our love and devotion of all things James Brown has only increased. Digging deeper, we were able to find this rare full concert from 1971. According to Wikipedia, “it is the only recording that documents one of his live performances with the original J.B.’s lineup featuring Bootsy and Catfish Collins“. The concert was also the basis of a live album, Love Peace Power.
One of the commenters on YouTube said it best about this show:
If you watch only the first 10 minutes, you’ll know that nothing like this ever passed through your life before. If you watch only 20 seconds (I suggest you start at 3:16), you’ll know that funk, soul, groove, and gospel were never concentrated at the same explosive levels in any other man or woman. Five minutes in, ask yourself: am I watching a “music concert,” or is this a HEALING? Ask yourselves: “Have I really got time for anything else but THIS today?”
Setlist:
- “Intro” – 1:12
- “Brother Rapp” – 3:03
- “Ain’t It Funky Now” – 5:36
- “Georgia on My Mind” (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) – 6:11
- “It’s a New Day” – 2:52
- “Bewildered” (Teddy Powell, Leonard Whitcup) – 4:19
- Sex Machine (Brown, Bobby Byrd, Ron Lenhoff) – 8:45
- “Try Me” – 2:19
- “Medley: Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag/I Got You (I Feel Good)/I Got The Feelin'” – 1:29
- “Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose” (Charles Bobbit) – 5:14
- “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” (Brown, Betty Jean Newsome) – 5:43
- “Please Please Please” (Brown, Johnny Terry) – 2:08
- “Sex Machine (reprise)” (Brown, Byrd, Lenhoff) – 0:39
- “Super Bad” – 5:07
- “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” (Brown, Byrd, Lenhoff) – 2:07
- “Soul Power” – 4:24
- “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved (finale)” (Brown, Byrd, Lenhoff) – 3:33
The Band:
James Brown: vocals, organ
Bobby Byrd: MC, vocals, organ
Darryl “Hasaan” Jamison: trumpet
Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: trumpet
Fred Wesley: trombone
St. Clair Pinckney: tenor saxophone
Phelps “Catfish” Collins: lead guitar
Hearlon “Cheese” Martin: rhythm guitar
William “Bootsy” Collins: bass guitar
John “Jabo” Starks: drums
Don Juan “Tiger” Martin: drums
David Matthews: director of additional horns, strings
Part 1:
Part 2: