Monday, December 22, 2008

Music William's Geekin' On Right Now...




Beautifully packaged and pressed on 180 Gram Vinyl, James Brown's "Jungle Groove" has been reissued (issued for the first time?) as part of Universal's "Back To Black" vinyl series. The iconic cover image alone is enough to satisfy vinyl fetishists. However, the album is as described on the back "full-length, full-strength masterfunk". Universal has skillfully stitched together unreleased recordings, alternate versions, and early versions of well known tracks such as Hot Pants to paint a portrait of James Brown during a transistion period in 1970, but scorching nonetheless. Highlights include a "Funky Drummer (Bonus Beat Reprise)" and "It's a New Day" (Featuring Maceo Parker). The sleeve notes go into great detail regarding how this recording came to be, and the history of each track along with perspective on James Brown's career at the time. It's worth buying for this alone. "Jungle Groove" is a great addition to the "Back to Black" series as well as the exciting revival of music's best and truest format: vinyl. For more info on availability: www.gotocdworld.com.