|
|
 |
I Got The Feelin': James Brown in the 60's
R1 - America - Shout! Factory Review written by and copyright: James Teitelbaum (13th August 2008). |
|
The Film
 This is a three disc set packed with interviews, concert performances, and documentaries about entertainer James Brown, all from his peak in the late 1960's. The centerpiece of the first disc is "The Night James Brown Saved Boston", a well-made documentary about an extraordinary show that Brown performed on April 5, 1968. The documentary begins by discussing the lives of both Brown and Martin Luther King Jr. We also learn about the turmoil of the 1960's, via lots of archival footage. When King is assassinated on April 4, 1968, riots erupt in New York, Detroit, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Brown is scheduled to play a show in Boston the following night, so the mayor of Boston decides that if Brown's concert were to be televised, people would stay home to watch it instead of rioting. Never has television more truly been the opiate of the masses: the plan worked, and Boston did not burn that night. The documentary continues for a further half hour to detail James Brown's activities during the few months after this historic night. Many people are interviewed, from members of Brown's band, to the former mayor of Boston, to the sound guys who had to figure out how to make the show happen on short notice. About thirty-five minutes into the program, the concert starts, and excerpts from the show are presented as the interviews continue. Rioting at the concert is narrowly avoided by Brown's level-headed attitude, keeping the crowd cool. The second disc presents the entire concert discussed on Disc One, as broadcast on April 5, 1968. After a speech by the Mayor of Boston, Brown and his band kick in, turning a fine and energetic performance. After a double-time rendition of "I Feel Good", some enthusiastic fans jump on stage, stopping the gig for a while, but Brown calms things down before the police get too aggressive, and the show goes on. The third and final disc of this set contains James Brown Live at the Apollo '68. Brown clearly had a steady repertoir in 1968, since the set list for this show is very similar to the previous one. Shot in color, occasional video effects and psychedelic effects spice up the shoot.
Video
Disc One: Video varies widely, with a mix of modern interviews, classic stock footage, and shots from the actual show, presented as black and white telecine. All material has been cropped to fit the 1.78:1 anamorphic aspect ratio of the show. Running time is 1:13:55, divided into nine chapters. Disc Two: This disc has been presented in the original television aspect ratio of 4:3 (contrasting the footage from this same show that was cropped for disc one's documentary). This black and white concert is fairly soft looking, but contrast is good considering the age of the source material. Some halos appear from time to time, and glitches from the early videotape or telecine process pop up as well. The quality is not stellar, but this disc could look a lot worse. Running time is 1:21:11, divided into twelve songs/chapters plus opening speeches. Disc Three: Aspect ratio is 4:3. This concert was shot on color videotape. The picture is soft and there are all sorts of artifacts like banding, diagonal scan lines, and occasional bad frames. Running time is 49:35, divided into nine songs (chapters), the last of which is a really long medley.
Audio
Disc One: "The Night James Brown Saved Boston" is in English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, with no subtitles or additional languages. As interesting and informative as the doc is, there is not a lot of music on this disc (that is all on discs two and three). The modern interviews sound fine, and the small amount of vintage performance footage that we do see has been adequately restored. Disc Two: This forty-year old television broadcast is in better shape then most material of its age, but it is by no means a production up to modern standards. The original English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio (so it comes out of both speakers, but it is still technically mono). The mix is passable but thin, and there is a small amount of harmonic distortion present throughout the show. Dynamic compression has been used liberally, so I found my hearing becoming fatigued before the end of the disc. The concert is in English with no subtitles. This is a shame because watching Brown subtitles would be a riot (no pun intended): "Woah! Yeah! Hit me! Owwww!" Disc Three: Like the concert on disc two, this appears to be in English Dolby Digital 2.0 dual-channel mono, and the disc suffers from all of the same problems as on disc two. This concert has a slightly fuller bottom end, but the dynamic range is really narrow and there is a low-level distortion throughout the show.
Extras
Shout! Factory has released this set along with some panel discussion footage, additional interviews and audio speech and some bonus performances. Below is a closer look at these supplements. DISC ONE: The disc also contains footage (in 4:3) from a panel discussion at the Boston premiere of the program which runs for 25 minutes 32 seconds. Plus there are bonus interviews with the people interviewed in the show and include: - Charles Bobbit which runs for 30 minutes 3 seconds. - Dr. Robert Hall which runs for 4 minutes 39 seconds. - Rev. Al Sharpton which runs for 19 minutes 24 seconds. - Rickey Vincent which runs for 12 minutes 22 seconds. - Dr. Cornel West which runs for 2 minutes 29 seconds. - The Band Remembers which runs for 9 minutes 31 seconds. DISC TWO: The only extra on this disc is audio of another speech that Brown gave prior to the concert (video footage has been lost) and it runs for 7 minutes 39 seconds. DISC THREE: This disc contains three bonus performances for: - "Out of Sight" from the T.A.M.I. Show, October, 1964 and runs for 3 minutes 21 seconds. - "I Got You" (I Feel Good) from L'Olympia in Paris, July, 1966 and runs for 2 minutes 24 seconds. - "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" from L'Olympia in Paris, November, 1967 and runs for 10 minutes.
Packaging
These discs are packaged in amaray cases and housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
|
|||||
|