Showing posts with label Please. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Please. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 7, 1991

James Brown Star Time box set released

First posted 2/18/2010; updated 11/16/2020.

Star Time

James Brown

Recorded: 1956-1974

Released: May 7, 1991

Peak: -- US, 89 RB, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 0.5 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: R&B/funk

Tracks:

Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

Disc 1 (Mr. Dynamite):
  1. Please Please Please (4/7/56, 5 RB, 95 US)
  2. Why Do You Do Me
  3. Try Me (11/10/58, 1 RB, 48 US)
  4. Tell Me What I Did Wrong
  5. Bewildered (2/27/61, 8 RB, 40 US)
  6. Good Good Lovin’
  7. I’ll Go Crazy (2/22/60, 15 RB, 73 US)
  8. I Know It’s True
  9. Do the Mashed Potatoes, Part 1 (9/29/62, 21 RB, 82 US)
  10. Think (5/2/60, 7 RB, 33 US)
  11. Baby, You’re Right (8/7/61, 2 RB, 49 US)
  12. Lost Someone (12/18/61, 2 RB, 48 US)
  13. Night Train (4/14/62, 5 RB, 35 US)
  14. I’ve Got Money
  15. I Don’t Mind (5/15/61, 4 RB, 47 US)
  16. Prisoner of Love (4/20/63, 6 RB, 18 US)
  17. Devil’s Den
  18. Out of the Blue
  19. Out of Sight (8/15/64, 24 RB, 24 US)
  20. Grits
  21. Maybe the Last Time
  22. It’s a Man’s World
  23. I Got You
  24. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, Parts 1, 2, & 3
Disc 2 (The Hardest Working Man in Show Business):
  1. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, Pt. 1 (7/17/65, 1 RB, 8 US, 25 UK)
  2. I Got You (I Feel Good) (11/13/65, 1 RB, 3 US, 29 UK)
  3. Ain’t That a Groove (3/5/66, 6 RB, 42 US)
  4. It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World (4/30/66, 1 RB, 8 US, 13 UK)
  5. Money Won’t Change You (7/30/66, 11 RB, 53 US)
  6. Don’t Be a Dropout (10/8/66, 4 RB, 50 US)
  7. Bring It Up (Hipster’s Avenue) (1/7/67, 7 RB, 29 US)
  8. Let Yourself Go (5/6/67, 5 RB, 46 US)
  9. Cold Sweat (7/15/67, 1 RB, 7 US)
  10. Get It Together (10/28/67, 11 RB, 40 US)
  11. I Can’t Stand Myself When You Touch Me, Part 1 (12/9/67, 4 RB, 28 US)
  12. I Got the Feelin’ (3/16/68, 1 RB, 6 US)
  13. Licking Stick (5/25/68, 2 RB, 14 US)
  14. Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud, Part 1 (9/7/68, 1 RB, 10 US)
  15. There Was a Time (live) (1/20/68, 36 US)
  16. Give It Up or Turnit-a-Loose (1/25/69, 1 RB, 15 US)
  17. I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I’ll Get It Myself) (4/5/69, 3 RB, 20 US)
Disc 3 (Soul Brother No. 1):
  1. Mother Popcorn (6/14/69, 1 RB, 11 US)
  2. Funky Drummer (3/21/70, 20 RB, 51 US)
  3. Get Up, I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine (7/18/70, 2 RB, 15 US, 32 UK)
  4. Super Bad, Pts. 1 & 2 (10/3/70, 1 RB, 13 US)
  5. Talkin’ Loud & Sayin’ Nothing (2/12/72, 1 RB, 27 US)
  6. Get Up, Get into It, and Get Involved (1/2/71, 4 RB, 34 US)
  7. Soul Power, Pts. 1 & 2 (2/27/71, 3 RB, 29 US)
  8. Medley: Brother Rapp (live) (5/2/70, 2 RB, 32 US) / Ain’t It Funky Now (live) (11/22/69, 3 RB, 24 US)
  9. Hot Pants, Part 1 (7/3/71, 1 RB, 15 US)
  10. I’m a Greedy Man, Part 1 (11/13/71, 7 RB, 35 US)
  11. Make It Funky, Part 1 (8/28/71, 1 RB, 22 US)
  12. It’s a New Day (live) (2/14/70, 3 RB, 32 US)
  13. I Got Ants in My Pants, Part 1 (1/20/73, 4 RB, 27 US)
  14. King Heroin (3/4/72, 6 RB, 40 US)
Disc 4 (The Godfather of Soul):
  1. There It Is, Part 1 (5/6/72, 4 RB, 43 US)
  2. Public Enemy #1, Pt. 1
  3. Get on the Good Foot (8/5/72, 1 RB, 18 US, sales: 0.5 m)
  4. I Got a Bag of My Own (11/18/72, 3 RB, 44 US)
  5. Doing It to Death
  6. The Payback (3/9/74, 1 RB, 26 US, 12 UK, sales: 0.5 m)
  7. Papa Don’t Take No Mess, Part 1 (8/24/74, 1 RB, 31 US)
  8. Stoned to the Bone, Pt. 1
  9. My Thang (6/8/74, 1 RB, 29 US)
  10. Funky President (People, It’s Bad) (11/2/74, 4 RB, 44 US)
  11. Hot (I Need to Be Loved, Loved, Loved) (11/29/75, 31 RB)
  12. Get Up Offa That Thing (Release the Pressure) (6/5/76, 4 RB, 45 US, 22 UK)
  13. Body Heat, Part 1 (12/11/76, 13 RB, 88 US, 36 UK)
  14. It’s Too Funky in Here (5/29/79, 15 RB)
  15. Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses) (11/15/80, 46 RB, 39 UK)
  16. Unity, Part 1 (with Afrika Bambaataa, 9/1/84, 87 RB, 49 UK)

Rating:

4.834 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings)

Quotable: “Star Time is packed with the best R&B and funk that money can buy” – CD Universe

Awards:

About the Album:

“There are few box sets that can match the greatness of James Brown’s Star Time.” CD “It would seem impossible to summarize James Brown’s contribution to R&B – to American music – in a mere four compact discs, but somehow Star Time does it,” DH “collecting seventy two tracks that let you hear why Brown is hailed as ‘the hardest working man in show business.’” CD

“Brown created some of the most intense, soulful music ever recorded” CD and “has one of the richest and most influential bodies of work in musical history, but before this 1991 box set, his catalogue was a mess to sort through. Albums were in and out of print, singles were impossible to track down.” TL

“The four discs of Star Time, though, are the very model of a great compilation – comprehensive without being overwhelming, they tell the complete James Brown story, using unreleased material and newly-discovered, unedited or unaltered versions of songs judiciously, to flesh out the incomparable greatness of Soul Brother Number One.” TL

“This boxed set charts Brown’s early rise as a hard-hitting R&B-styled vocalist (Please Please Please, Try Me) and shows how his bandleading skills (one can't forget inventive players like saxophonist Maceo Parker, bassist Bootsy Collins, drummer Jabo Starks, and many others) changed the face of soul and invented funk in the '60s and early '70s.” DH

There are “late-'60s funk essentials like…Sex Machine to the massively influential '70s funk grooves Funky Drummer and The Payback.” CD Throughout the set are “impeccably timed (Papa's Got a Brand New Bag), highly rhythmic (I Can't Stand It), primal (Licking Stick Licking Stick) hits.” DH Incidentally, in regards to the former, it is presented here “at its original tempo — it was sped up for release – is a revelation.” TL “A live medley of Brother Rapp/Ain’t It Funky Now showcases the jaw-dropping, drill-team precision funkiness of one of Brown's finest bands.” TL “The box also does a definitive programming job on Brown's more spotty later years – another plus.” DH

“This is where beginners should start, but several extended versions and rarities (like ‘Papa’…) make it a must for completists too.” DH Star Time gives you all the James Brown basics.” CD This is “funk nirvana,” TL “a monument to the life and music of one of the most colorful and inspired performers in popular music.” CD “Star Time is packed with the best R&B and funk that money can buy.” CD “After five hours, you still want more.” TL

“Star Time also comes with a 64-page booklet that features rare and wonderful photos and essays by Nelson George and several other noted critics.” CD

Resources and Related Links:

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, October 6, 1984

Dennis DeYoung released Desert Moon, first solo album

Desert Moon

Dennis DeYoung

Charted: October 6, 1994

Peak: 29 US

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: rock

Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Don’t Wait for Heroes [4:46] (12/8/84, 83 US, 81 CB)
  2. Please (with Rosemary Butler) [4:20]
  3. Boys Will Be Boys [5:41]
  4. Fire (Jimi Hendrix) [3:46]
  5. Desert Moon [6:09] (9/8/84, 10 US, 10 CB, 7 RR, 4 AC, 31 AR, 7 CN)
  6. Suspicious [4:57]
  7. Gravity [4:51]
  8. Dear Darling (I’ll Be There) [4:27]

All songs by Dennis DeYoung except where noted.

Total Running Time: 38:57

Rating:

3.348 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

Styx’s Kilroy Was Here album released in 1983 followed the same trajectory as its four predecessors – it hit the top 10 on the Billboard album chart and sold more than a million copies. It was only the second Styx album, after 1981’s Paradise Theater, to produce two top-10 hits – “Mr Roboto” and “Don’t Let It End.” The latter was a Dennis DeYoung ballad not too far from the template that gave the band their only #1 hit with “Babe” in 1979.

“Mr. Roboto,” however, proved divisive even though it was a #3 hit. Some fans and even members of the band considered the song goofy and even the band’s “jump the shark” moment. The video gave a taste of the rock opera storyline DeYoung envisioned with the album, but it also tested the patience of guitarist Tommy Shaw who wasn’t enamored with DeYoung’s theatrical leanings. Shaw ended up leaving the band the following year.

After a live album, 1984’s Caught in the Act, Styx disappeared from the scene for six years with DeYoung, Shaw, and guitarist James Young all releasing solo albums to varying degrees of success. DeYoung was the only one of the three to find himself back in the top 10 of the pop charts without his bandmates. Desert Moon, “a glorious power ballad in the vein of ‘Don’t Let It End’…showcases every aspect of DeYoung’s wide range…and…did deservedly crack Billboard’s Top 10.” AMG It was also a top 10 hit in Canada and a top-5 adult contemporary hit.

“Nothing [else on the album] is as glorious as ‘Desert Moon,’ but that’s a song that justifies an entire album.” AMG The second single, Don’t Wait for Heroes, didn’t fare nearly as well, stalling at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Desert Moon” proved to be DeYoung’s only solo hit to scratch the top 40. “Heroes” demonstrates how DeYoung “loves to put on a show, to rouse a crowd and strut on the stage.” AMG In the upbeat anthem, he proclaims, “Don’t wait for heroes / Do it yourself / You’ve got the power / Winners are losers / Who got up and gave it one more try.” AMG

Elsewhere the album features Boys Will Be Boys, which All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls “a horrific fusion of new wave, arena rock, and doo wop.” AMG Please, “a song that makes Meat Loaf seem subtle,” AMG is a duet with Rosemary Butler, who was a backup singer with Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Warren Zevon, and Neil Young. She even had some success as a solo artist in Japan in the early ‘80s.

The album, produced by DeYoung, is “very, very ‘80s – all all thundering drums, clanking synths, glassy electric pianos and overdriven guitars.” AMG “The first side contains the rockers, the second the ballads and pop tunes and, although it can get sticky on sentiment and often rides a bouncy, dorky beat, overall, the B-side is the better of the two because it showcases DeYoung the pop singer.” AMG

In addition to singing and writing all the songs, with the exception of his cover of Jimi Hendrix’s Fire, DeYoung plays keyboards, piano, and percussion. He also did arranging and mixing on the album. He brought in a slew of musicians to help, including his wife Suzanne on backing vocals, and Tom Dziallo for guitar, bass, percussion, drum programming, arranging, and mixing.

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 6/5/2021.

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)