Amazing performances, mostly substandard fidelity
Phil S. | USA | 07/29/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"About one year after Live at The Apollo, Vol. One, was recorded, JB & co. traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, USA to record this show. It made alot of sense to do so, especially since that earlier effort, pushed for and paid for by the foresightfull Brown, made alot of money...made musical and cultural history.
Well, there are differences: the '62 opus was well engineered, all instruments with presence, audience mixed in; here one must surmise, the equipment, the acoustics - not the music - didn't cut it. Even on CD, the real live tracks (several strong numbers are overdubbed studio), are very difficult to deal with aurally: it simply sounds as if a reel-to-reel tape recorder was placed about halfway back in the orchestra, and so the band sounds distant; the beat can be hard to pick up for non-musicians. Another problem is that it appears that audience sounds from the October, 1962 Apollo Show are added in, quite unnecessarily.
A standout studio track included is "Like A Baby", from May of 1962, featuring Bobby Byrd on organ. It's a jazz-blues ballad, if you will, recognizable also as a great Elvis Presley album cut from 1960. Without such accomodations, this record might not have registered with the unitiated fan at the time.
On the fast finale, "Good, Good Lovin'", the booming effect is too much, unless the overall frenzy and excitement supercedes the musical values for the fan in this case: not the best in *listening* for the unititiated. So, if you're a deep fan, or just want to experience James Brown in 1963, this one's okay (though not for heavy revisitation, or car listening).
"Signed, Sealed, and Delivered" [not the S. Wonder tune] is pure rock and soul, one of the better-sounding real-live cuts; "These Foolish Things", to me, is far better than the 45rpm issue. Within a few notes, the audiences' *silence* spells rapture.
Hats off to the enghineers who pieced together the studio "Oh, Baby Don't You Weep" [recorded about one month before] and the live "Please, Please, Please", though, listening with *today's* ears, you want to say, if they're gonna do that, find an alternate "Oh, Baby..." vocal to overdub! This segment is "PG" all the way - somewhat risque - which might further trouble some listeners who are reminded of the gospel song, "Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep", and don't believe in mixing "oil and water". To put a positive spin [no pun] on the concept, yes it's gospel *style* mixed with R & B.
"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1
