Wind Me Up Chuck/Hoochie Coochie Man - Chuck Brown, Dixon, Willie [1]
Feel Like Movin' That Body - Chuck Brown,
Chameleon - Chuck Brown, Hancock, Herbie
Get Your Hands Up/Playing Your Game Baby - Chuck Brown, Hudman, G. Smead
It's Love - Chuck Brown, Henderson, Jimmy [1
2001 (That'll Work) - Chuck Brown,
People Make the World Go Round - Chuck Brown, Bell, Thom
Wind Us Up Funk & Benny - Chuck Brown,
One on One - Chuck Brown, Davidson, Q.
Hey Go Go Mickey - Chuck Brown,
No Diggity - Chuck Brown, Hannibal, A.
Do You Know What Time It Is - Chuck Brown, Mohandas, D.
Go Go Swing Outro - Chuck Brown,
Hah Man [Sinbad, Main Title] - Chuck Brown, Brown, Chuck [1]
Perhaps no musician more defines a city and a sound than Chuck Brown does Washington, D.C. and go-go. At the age of 67, the godfather of go-go has entertained three generations and still plays to thousands of fans at le... more »ast three times a week in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia triangle. Go-go is the same age as hip-hop, and shares all of its urban bombast, but it's a live-band thing, and a community thing too. When disco DJs threatened to displace cabaret bands in the '70s, Chuck invented the kinetic, syncopated go-go backbeat and put together continuous funkified sets of originals and covers linked by generous crowd shout-outs and sizzling percussive breakdowns. This recent set, featuring appearances by Trouble Funk and Rare Essence luminaries, has it all: Chuck's exquisite baritone, brilliant musicianship, go-gofied hip-hop, blues and jazz, and breakbeats you can fit a trailer into. If you don't know anything about go-go or Chuck, Your Game...Live At The 9:30 Club might the best introduction you're ever likely to hear. It's definitely one of the best records of 2001. Special bonus: the multimedia enhancements include two videos that put you right in the middle of all the go-go action. --Jeff Chang« less
Perhaps no musician more defines a city and a sound than Chuck Brown does Washington, D.C. and go-go. At the age of 67, the godfather of go-go has entertained three generations and still plays to thousands of fans at least three times a week in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia triangle. Go-go is the same age as hip-hop, and shares all of its urban bombast, but it's a live-band thing, and a community thing too. When disco DJs threatened to displace cabaret bands in the '70s, Chuck invented the kinetic, syncopated go-go backbeat and put together continuous funkified sets of originals and covers linked by generous crowd shout-outs and sizzling percussive breakdowns. This recent set, featuring appearances by Trouble Funk and Rare Essence luminaries, has it all: Chuck's exquisite baritone, brilliant musicianship, go-gofied hip-hop, blues and jazz, and breakbeats you can fit a trailer into. If you don't know anything about go-go or Chuck, Your Game...Live At The 9:30 Club might the best introduction you're ever likely to hear. It's definitely one of the best records of 2001. Special bonus: the multimedia enhancements include two videos that put you right in the middle of all the go-go action. --Jeff Chang
"Ok, so mymainman chuck is almost 70 and he's still puttin out classics. This is by far the best commercial release by chuck in a live setting. the all-time classics are a set of him and lil benny at the takoma station (1998), and the great 1991 tape at the kilimanjaro club (where juju broke the bass drum on run joe, and improvised on bustin loose)every cut on this cd slams, and all of the guests are up to par except for big tony."
Not my game exactly, but I can't stop playing it
Andrew Lindemann Malone | 03/16/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Go-go is D.C.'s indigenous funk, but I'll freely admit that I'm way less familiar with it than I really should be. This realization came upon me with astonishing force upon listening to this record, which is unlike anything else I've ever heard except Chuck's actual live show, which I had to check out after hearing this CD.
The audience for this live show seems to be specially selected people who know every rite of the go-go show and who appreciate the cameos from Jas, Funk, Benny, Andre "Whiteboy" Johnson (some irony there), and other special guest artists from old school go-go luminaries such as Trouble Funk. I hope one day to be well-enough versed in go-go to savor such moments.
Coming to this CD from classical and hip-hop, though, there are priceless moments enough. A horn riff with (electronic piano doubling as) harpsichord under it in the opening "Wind Me Up, Chuck" sounds freaking exactly like the opening ritornello in Bach's second Brandenburg Concerto, but about five million times funkier. Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" gets a conga-driven workout and some ultrasmooth Chuckster lyrics. "2001 (That'll Work)" again takes a classical work, in this case "Dawn" from Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra, and funkafies it mercilessly into the go-go strut, producing extra-special glee for anyone who likes historical irony and remembers Strauss's vile late-life racism. "No Diggity," the one hit in the wonder that was Blackstreet, and the Kool Moe Dee classic "Do You Know What Time It Is?" both get slamming covers towards the close of the album, showing that Chuck and his band can cover all the R&B bases they choose to.
But mostly this record is about bold, jazzy brass playing, guitar riffs powerful enough to shake mountains, Chuck's magesterial presence, and the go-go beat powering it all. It's really a wonderful thing, and the only reason I don't play this record more than I do is that I'm worried about becoming inured to its glories.
The fact that the first of like five shout-outs to Silver Spring occurs at 4:26 into the record is purely incidental to my enjoyment of it, by the way."
Way to go Chuck
Charles M. Yancey | Pickerington, Ohio United States | 06/11/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Man this CD is off the chain. Chuck is back with a vengeance. The Barry White mix is live as ever. Reminds me of the IBEX when listening to live GO-GO was safe and partying was hard."
Mr. Brown is a baa-aad man!
E. Taylor Atkins | Sycamore, IL United States | 12/01/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Is it possible for a CD to have one beat throughout its entire length, and still be as good to your head as to your booty? If Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers are layin the groove down the answer is yes. Mr. Brown invented one beat--the go go beat--and he's stuck to it, but what he does on top of that beat is what keeps your attention. His guitar, the bass, keys, and especially the horns are all over the place in the jazziest sense of the word. Brown is a master, classy MC for the party. I have several other live discs by CB and this may be the best. Recommended highly for anyone who likes their music loose and funky."
Wind me up Chuck........
Mr. J Sterling Faulkner | Capitol Heights, MD | 12/11/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Chuck Brown brings Go-Go home where it belongs.....Go-Go is live, Audience-interaction, Conga-smacking, Backbeat-Drumming......if you are ever in DC.....Check out Chuck Brown.....this cd is hot"