PRICE:
$25.00
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Damn Right, I Am Somebody
FORMAT
LP + 7"

LABEL
CATALOG #
GET 54069LP GET 54069LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
9/23/2014

2024 repress. "In 1974 one of James Brown's most important band-leaders and sidemen -- trombonist Fred Wesley would release not one but two albums as a leader including Damn Right, I Am Somebody. Starting with an evocative cover it was clear to fans that this album wasn't all about a party. Deep messages abound in the songs here, such as the nearly 10-minute workout 'I'm Paying Taxes, But What Am I Buying.' Social messages aside, Fred and his assembled JBs were a party-moving funk machine at heart, as heard on 'If You Don't Get It The First Time, Back Up And Try It Again Paarty' and the laid-back groove of 'Same Beat' (with prototypical sampling of Jesse Jackson exhorting an audience to chant 'I am / Somebody'). Nestled among these raise-your-fist classics is one of the most experimental funk cut ever made: 'Blow Your Head,' known to relatively modern listeners as the backbone of Public Enemy's 'Public Enemy #1' (from 1987). Get On Down pays reverent tribute to this classic by pressing it on 150-gram vinyl, housed in a 1970s style Stoughton jacket in an 8-gauge custom polybag emblazoned with an embossed People Records logo. In addition, the package comes with a 22" x 22" poster featuring the original cover art, as well as a 7-inch flexidisc of the rare 'Unrubbed Version' (without Moog) of Fred Wesley & The JBs' 1973 single 'Blow Your Head.' This version was only available previously on 2000's James Brown's Funky People Part 3 compilation."