James Brown Love Power Peace: Live At The Olympia, Paris, 1971. CD

Full title: Love Power Peace: Live At The Olympia, Paris, 1971.
Personnel: James Brown (vocals, organ); Bobby Byrd (M.C., vocals, organ), Phelps "Catfish" Collins, Hearlon "Cheese" Martin (guitar); St. Clair Pinckney (tenor saxophone); Darryl "Hasaan" Jamison, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells (trumpet); Fred Wesley (trombone); William "Bootsy" Collins (bass); John "Jabo" Starks, Don Juan "Tiger" Martin (drums).
Recorded live at The Olympia, Paris, France on March 8, 1971. Includes liner notes by Daddy Cool.
James Brown is featured here with the then newly formed J.B.'s -- the maestro's second great band, including Bootsy Collins, Phelps Collins, Jabo Starks, Bobby Byrd, and Fred Wesley. Live at the Apollo had caught James Brown the '50s gospel/R&B singer; Love Power Peace captures James Brown the funkster. In the early '70s Brown turned up the funk, recording such litanies for Black America as "Ain't It Funky Now," "Sex Machine," "Give It Up or Turn It Loose," "Super Bad," "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved," and "Soul Power." They're all here, along with revved-up, white-hot versions of the early- and middle-period classics. Brown had planned to release this as a triple album in 1971. When several bandmembers left shortly after it was recorded, Brown switched from King to Polydor Records, leading him to scrap it and record a new studio album instead. In 1992, Polygram decided to make the recording available for the first time. ~ Rob Bowman
Recorded in 1971 at L'Olympia in Paris, France, LOVE POWER PEACE is the only live recording with the original JB's backing James Brown. The hardest working man in show business and his original band go full force with jams that capture the genuine sweat of the Godfather Of Soul shuffling across the stage in a gold lame fury, flanked by half- naked dancers. With original JB's such as MC/organist Bobby Byrd and bassist Bootsy Collins, you can hear the superior musicianship that is required to keep time with James Brown's frenetic pace. Drummers Jabo Starks and Tiger Martin would play both kits at once to get the groove on, making abrupt tempo changes, as in the transition between "Brother Rapp" and "Aint It Funky Now," illustrating both their talent and the tightness of their groove. Blasting through a number of Brown's greatest hits--"I Got You (I Feel Good)," "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "Georgia On My Mind"--this release is a chunk of funk/soul history spotlighting Brown in his prime.Entertainment Weekly (4/30/93, p.55) - "...If you really want to hear the JB's, here's the place--a previously unreleased live tape of Brown and band peeling the paint off the walls of a French arena....You'll want to take a breather after this one..." - Rating: A