It’s Man’s Man’s Man’s World (Live from Augusta, Georgia, 1969) – James Brown

It’s pretty surprising to me that I haven’t featured any James Brown yet on the blog. I was introduced to him fairly early on by my dad and have always really liked him, but in more recent years, I have really come to love and appreciate him. I’ve got to give Soul Brother Number 1 a ton of credit for getting me into horns, as well as understanding and appreciating a great backing band. Most everyone at least knows who James is, but I don’t think his impact on music can ever be understated. The world needs more James in it on a daily basis.

For today’s song, I decided to go with one of the most well-known and iconic songs from his catalogue, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” but in particular, a live performance from his hometown of Augusta, Georgia. James with his legendary band at the time, featuring of course, Maceo Parker, along with three different drummers, Maceo’s brother Melvin, and future members of the legendary JB’s, Jabo Starks and Clyde Stubblefield I would say this is “prime” James of this era. He is performing his ass off for his hometown, and even through the audio you can almost feel the energy of the crowd and band that he was so masterful at commanding. “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” earned his title from performances like this one.

This is another one that I would recommend headphones for, or at least crank it up. The band absolutely delivers on this one. James’s vocals are on point, of course, as well. If you’ve ever seen a James Brown performance, it’s easy to picture him giving the band direction. This album in its entirety is one of the coolest examples of this, and on this track in particular you can hear him call out to Melvin on the drums a couple of times, most prevalent during the coda and transition into the next track “Please Please Please“.

Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnjh_BNOWHM&list=PLTPIvle0jCvIqbBdwxLMaLa-oSUsgDs5O&index=18