I got the idea from this thread http://www.prince.org/msg/8/234958 and thought it would be cool to name the most underrated James Brown cuts.


- Get It Together
- Doin' the Best I Can
- Get Up, Get Unto It, Get Involved
- I Know It's True
- These Foolish Things
[Edited 7/21/07 17:27pm]

Bewildered
I Lost Someone
Get It Together
Out of Sight (I don't think that song gets enough praise as "Papa...")
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved (I love the rock guitar solo on part two of this song, everybody took a part of that guitar in hip-hop recordings)
Let Yourself Go
Ants in My Pants
My Thang

Timmy84 said:

- Bewildered is the shiz-nit, great slow jam and pwns the original.
- Lost Someone is a top 5 JB ballad.
- Let Yourself Go has killer rhythm guitar playing.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Yessir. I love the guitar breakdown in "Let Yourself Go". His "Think" is pretty nice too. Not the 1972 one he produced (everyone knows about that one), but his 1960 version. You could see his Ray Charles-Little Richard influences in his early material.

These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You
It's A New Day
I Got To Move
Shoot Your Shot

I Don't Want Nobody . . .

namepeace said:

Goodbye My Love

Some Others:


- I'll Go Crazy
- Waiting in Vain
- Is It Yes or Is It Know?
- Licking Stikc, Licking Stick

namepeace said:

Underrated by whom? I thought that was among most folks' favorites.

Maybe The Last Time
Ain't That A Groove
Money Won't Change You
Bring It Up
King Heroin


These 2 always make my James Brown Top 10 everytime that thread rolls around...

It's A New Day
Sister when you love your man
Be careful how you tell him that
He will put you back in a corner
And use you like a Sunday hat

Get It Together
You dropped outta school, before you got it down
You h'year me?
You dropped outta school, before you got it down
Now you ain't hip, you're the biggest fool in town



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

already mentioned, but ones I would pick in a second:

Get it Together
It's A New Day
King Heroin

I see everyone like Get It Together, also how could I forget:


Oh Baby, Don't You Weep

Dag, I'm all late, and y'all mentioned my songs already. I like slowjams A LOT and "Bewildered" and "Lost Someone" have ALWAYS been two of my faves! Oh, I can't forget "Try Me!" Remember that one?

NewPowerSista said:

Without a doubt.
Many forget that before he became the Funk Monster, he was a very effective crooner.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

True, but I wouldn't call "Try Me" an underrated tune. It's probally one of his top 10 most well known songs.

I dug his late-'70s joints like "Jam" (which was really a remake of "Doing It to Death"), "Bodyheat", "The Spank", "I Refuse to Lose" and "It's Too Funky in Here". "Static" was his finest hour in his twilight years.

'Ain't It Funky Now' - The song (and this thread ).

Also, 'Goodbye, My Love', 'King Heroin', 'There Was a Time', 'Brother Rapp'.

Check my avator name out... also "The Payback" don't get enough recognition,and "Gravity" never gets a mention.

Toofunkyinhere said:

Payback, not enough recongnition. It's one of JB's top 10 most popular tracks!

Toofunkyinhere said:

I'll give you that.

Gravity, the album, is not generally a fan favorite...



...maybe because of the slicker production Dan Hartman created for him.


Personally, I like the record. Gravity and Goliath are the tunes i'll play the most.
The "hit", Living In America, I never play.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

1962's Live At The Apollo is regarded as classic,

but I really like 1964's overlooked




Pure Dynamite! Live at the Royal.


1. Intro
2. Shout And Shimmy
3. I'm Tired But I'm Clean
4. These Foolish Things
5. Signed Sealed And Delivered
6. Like A Baby
7. I'll Never Let You Go
8. Please Please Please
9. Oh Baby Don't You Weep
10. Good Good Lovin'

Cinnie said:

Awesome, they are re-releasing this in a Japanesse cut-out.



Some others:
- This Old Heart
- Like a Baby
- Shout & Shimmy
- You've Got the Power '67
- You've Got to Change Your Mind (duet with Bobby Byrd)

Pure Dynamite! Live at the Royal.


1. Intro
2. Shout And Shimmy
3. I'm Tired But I'm Clean
4. These Foolish Things
5. Signed Sealed And Delivered
6. Like A Baby
7. I'll Never Let You Go
8. Please Please Please
9. Oh Baby Don't You Weep
10. Good Good Lovin'

[Edited 7/26/07 18:17pm]

GangstaFam said:

Good point. "Favorite" and "underrated" are two different concepts.

Thanks for mentioning this subject. I've been saying this for years. When people mention James Brown classics, they always fail to mention a few. The few which I love and so under appreciated. "Licking Stick-Licking Stick" a funk classic but always forgotten. "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing" is a sampled classic but underrated. "I'm Real", love that song. The entire Black Ceasar soundtrack. And most of all underrated is my fave "Funky President". You guys just don't give these songs enough love.

I've always LOVED "Funky President". I remember the first time I heard the song. We were listening to a James Brown compilation and I was in the backseat and all of a sudden I heard something familiar:

(drums hitting)
(guitar wah-wahing)
FUNKY...
NASTY (HEY LISTEN TO THE MAN)

And I freaked out like "that's James!" But I should've known.

And I LOVE the song's lyrics. The man was part of that social consciousness alongside Donny, Marvin and Curtis. Probably more so than Donny and Marvin for that matter (Don't Be a Dropout, Say It Loud, I Don't Want Nobody, Talking Loud and Saying Nothing, Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved, King Heroin, Down & Out in New York City - and he didn't even write the last one but you FELT him when he sings that song: "you try hard or you die hard/no one really gives a good damn!").

I mean the man was as important to musical civil rights as Curtis and Bob but they don't give him the credit because he was always the showman but the man had clearly a LOT of talent as not only a singer and performer but also as a writer, musician, band leader, producer, record entrepreneur (his People record label was successful throughout the early-'70s).

I think his overall input is underrated, they give him props and they DON'T give him props basically because his problems (like I posted from YouTube when he was going through marital... and drug problems during that interview) have overshadowed it.

But you know in James' case, it is kinda easy to point out his underrated joints basically because the man literally had A HUNDRED HITS!!!!
[Edited 7/28/07 22:28pm]