一聽音樂網

拿起小號排排站，為James Brown送行，2006年12月22日的中國上海之行竟是他的絕唱，患有肺炎的James Brown12月24日入院，在25日凌晨1時45分與世長辭，享年73歲（1933－2006）。

媒體如此評價：2006年12月25日，環球唱片旗下著名歌星、Funk音樂鼻祖、靈歌教父James Brown在亞歷山大的醫院中因為肺炎去世。James Brown是靈魂樂的教父(Godfather of Soul)級人物，被稱作靈魂樂(SOUL)教父和皇后，James Brown在1962年推出的現場版專輯在美國SOUL和R&B派恒幫連續停留了66周。是他將這兩種音樂形式融合在一起，與BLUES、JAZZ一起構成了現代搖滾樂的基石。James Brown是最富于改革精神的一位藝人，爆炸式的演唱風格、飽含深情的嗓音，James Brown是易于辨認的，沒有了James Brown，Funk的歷史演變必定會不同，James Brown在舞臺上的爆炸力和他的嗓音是天生的，也是可以復制的。但他對Funk的改革并使其成為一門獨立的音樂流派，卻是無人能及，就此點而論，James Brown對現代音樂史的貢獻要遠大于許多大師級人物，他創造了屬于自己的世界，卻從未獲得好的名譽。

James Brown with a big, BIG band...OUCH!!!

We all know what a gifted performer the Godfather of Soul has been through the years. So, by listening to this CD (recorded in 1969 and long out of print), I've come to realize that Mr. Soul has a lot of jazz sensibilities in him.

Backed by the screaming Louis Bellson big band, James tears his way through a collection of standards, jazzed-up covers of his own hits, and two original tunes, "The Man in the Glass" (forgot the composer), and "I Need Your Key to Turn Me On," for which Mr. Drums (Bellson) wrote the words, music, and Brown's right-on monologue.

"September Song" is best performed the way Kurt Weill wrote it (as a plaintive ballad), but Brown tears this classic apart as only he can. Ditto "Your Cheatin' Heart." Brown's hits "It's a Man's, Man's World," "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "There Was a Time" (not part of the original LP - shame) get added horsepower from Bellson and company.

All in all, this project was a welcome surprise to these ears, thanks to the contributions of Mr. Soul, Mr. Drums, and the rock-solid big band charts of the sorely missed Oliver Nelson.