281. Marvin Gaye | Let's Get It On (1973)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Let's Get It On
2. Please Stay (Once You Go Away)
3. If I Should Die Tonight
4. Keep Gettin' It On
5. Come Get to This
6. Distant Lover
7. You Sure Love to Ball
8. Just to Keep You Satisfied

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Let's Get It On is an amorous album. The music is funk and soul. It's really a funky soul album. The funk is ever-present but measured while the soul rides on top. Marvin Gaye switches between his normal mellow, honey-dripping singing voice and an orgasmic, falsetto one.

This is music that can't be meant to actually listen to. For men, this album certainly isn't meant for anything but background music to seduction. And certainly, with this album, Marvin Gaye has given more women weaker knees than any other soul singer.

I think this is a good album. It certainly creates a romantic mood, which isn't really what I'm looking for when listening to music alone. No matter what, the music is really good, especially the bass and there are some good drum fills. I think it's worth listening to once. It's a must for any bachelor and for serious music collectors. It deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list because this is the work that many far-inferior soul singers have ripped off.

All the songs are good. The stand outs are Let's Get It On, Please Stay (Once You Go Away), If I Should Die Tonight, Keep Gettin' It On, You Sure Love to Ball and Just to Keep You Satisfied.

★★★★★★★★★★

269. Al Green | Let's Stay Together (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Let's Stay Together
2. La-La for You
3. So You're Leaving
4. What Is This Feeling?
5. Old Time Lovin'
6. I've Never Found a Girl (Who Loves Me Like You Do)
7. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?
8. Judy
9. It Ain't No Fun to Me

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Let's Stay Together is a handsome album. The music is soul with a little funk thrown in. The music is mellow, even on the songs with  horns, and works from a slow groove. Al Green's voice is the key instrument on this album, of course, and it's wonderful and complements the music quite well. If this had been done in the contemporary R&B style emerging in the '70s it would have been a failure.

Al Green seems like the natural successor to Sam Cooke. The other great soul singers don't ooze sex appeal and as much as those two. (Otis Redding might fit in there somewhere, though). Al Green is more intimate while Sam Cooke is more of a lady-killer.

I think this is a enjoyable album. Romantic music isn't my cup of tea. Fortunately, soul music is listenable. Despite being soul rather than being R&B, this album is a preview to disco. It seems that funk songs that are tame are nothing more than proto-disco songs. So, Al Green is heading into dangerous territory. It's not that disco itself is bad; rather it's the deluge of talentless musicians and vapid songs that is unleashed that's the problem. No matter, this album is worth listening to and it deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list.

All the songs are excellent. The stand-outs are: Let's Stay Together, La-La for You, So You're Leaving, Old Time Lovin', How Can You Mend a Broken Heart and It Ain't No Fun to Me.

★★★★★★★★★☆

268. War | The World Is a Ghetto (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. The Cisco Kid
2. Where Was You At
3. City, Country, City
4. Four Cornered Room
5. The World Is a Ghetto
6. Beetles in the Bog

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The World Is a Ghetto is a cool album. The music is funk with some soul mixed in. I suppose it's not unexpected for a funk band to jam, but these despite the heavy grooves which most time keep one grounded in the here and now, a couple of the jams have an eerie psychedelic and ethereal quality to them. That's certainly something to be expected for a late '60s psychedelic band or a prog rock band, but not a funk band.

The sound quality is nice. The instruments can be heard clearly and they are balanced against each other quite well.

I think this is a darn good album. It's fun and certainly worth listening to. While all the songs are good, I think it's too disjointed to be a coherent album. I almost think this album doesn't belong on the 1001 Albums list, but there's some pretty interesting things being done musically on songs like Four Cornered Room and The World Is a Ghetto that seem ahead of their time.

All the songs are excellent. The stand-outs are: The Cisco Kid, City, Country, City, Four Cornered Room and The World Is a Ghetto.

★★★★★★★★★☆

266. The Temptations | All Directions (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Funky Music Sho' Nuff Turns Me On
2. Run Charlie Run
3. Papa Was a Rollin' Stone
4. Love Woke Me Up This Morning
5. I Ain't Got Nothin'
6. The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)
7. Mother Nature
8. Do Your Thing

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All Directions is a bifurcated album. The music is soul and funk. The songs vary from standards like The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) to social commentary like Run Charlie Run. And that's how the music divides, too. The safer ones being soul and the more adventurous ones being funk. The main feature here, of course, is the Temptations voices. There isn't a finer group of voices in music.

The songs are all good enough to stand alone. There isn't a bad one among the bunch. The problem is that they don't jell. So then the album seems more like a collection of hit songs than an album with a common thread running through it.

Then there is Papa Was a Rollin' Stone. This is another outstanding song both for the music and vocals. In fact, prog rock bands should take a look at the Temptations' playbook on how to make long songs compelling. The problem with the song is then its inclusion among so many short songs. When there are eight songs and one comprises over a third of the album's length, it just unbalances the the whole thing.

I think this is an enjoyable album and it's worth listening to, but since it would seem to be more of a compilation of songs than a "true" album, I don't think it belongs on the 1001 Albums list. Rather individual songs can appear on a 1001 Songs list. 

All the songs are excellent. The stand-outs are: Run Charlie Run, Papa Was a Rollin' Stone, I Ain't Got Nothin', The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face), Mother Nature and Do Your Thing.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

256. Stevie Wonder | Talking Book (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. You Are the Sunshine of My Life
2. Maybe Your Baby
3. You and I
4. Tuesday Heartbreak
5. You've Got It Bad Girl
6. Superstition
7. Big Brother
8. Blame It on the Sun
9. Looking for Another Pure Love
10. I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)

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Talking Book is a peaceful album. The music is soul and funk, but it's much different from the kind of soul and funk that has come before. First, it's a lot more mellow. Second, it's less about sex and more about love.

Stevie Wonder is a keyboard player, so it's the dominant sound on the album are from synthesizers. I don't completely enjoy the sounds and textures coming from some of the synths he uses. They have a cheap-sounding quality to them. Since synths were a new technology at the time, there were limitations to how they sounded. I'm not sure if that's what the problem is in this case or it's the sound Stevie Wonder exactly wanted.  Perhaps, if I could get past some of the synth sounds, I could accept this album more.

The other problem I have is with the lyrics. I'm not entirely convinced they aren't the typical singer/songwriter tripe. I guess there's a quirkiness to this album that might be because Stevie Wonder is a bit off-kilter.

I like this album more and more, but I don't understand why there's so much love for it from critics. There are some really strong songs and the album is thematically and stylistically cohesive, but there are more than a handful of songs that could easily be filler. I just think I don't get this album.

I'll have to reserve judgement until a later time. I sense a lot of promise with it and it's certainly not a bad album, but I'm just not entirely convinced whether this is an album worth listening to and  whether it's deserving of being on the 1001 Albums list.

There are some really good songs on this album. The stand outs are: Superstition, Big Brother, Blame It on the Sun and I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever). The songs that I'm unsure about are: You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Maybe Your Baby, You and I, and You've Got It Bad Girl.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

247. Curtis Mayfield | Super Fly (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Little Child Runnin' Wild
2. Pusherman
3. Freddie's Dead
4. Junkie Chase (Instrumental)
5. Give Me Your Love (Love Song)
6. Eddie You Should Know Better
7. No Thing on Me (Cocaine Song)
8. Think (Instrumental)
9. Superfly

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Super Fly is an earnest album (for a decidedly un-serious film). The music is funk with the Curtis Mayfield singing soulfully. The instrumentals don't allow a listener to forget that this is a soundtrack album. (What came first–the soundtrack instrumental sound of the '70s or the blaxploitation film genre?)

Despite what the album is, it contains serious music with serious social issues being addressed. The potential problem is that Curtis Mayfield comes off as a Marvin Gaye ripoff. Intention is the unknowable variable. 

The album is great musically when it's not revealing it's soundtrack nature. However, even the soundtrack instrumentals are better than what some contemporary singer-songwriters have to offer. I think this would have been a lot better if it hadn't been limited by it being a soundtrack album. I do think this album should be on the 1001 Albums list; Curtis Mayfield has set the bar high for soundtrack album quality.

All of the songs are good. The stand outs are Little Child Runnin' Wild, Pusherman, Freddie's Dead, Give Me Your Love (Love Song) and Superfly.

★★★★★★★★★☆

232. Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band | Pearl (1971)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Move Over
2. Cry Baby
3. A Woman Left Lonely
4. Half Moon
5. Buried Alive in the Blues
6. My Baby
7. Me and Bobby McGee
8. Mercedes Benz
9. Trust Me
10. Get It While You Can

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Pearl is an overproduced album or at least it seems that way. The music is blues rock. There's no doubt that Janis Joplin is one of the greatest blues singers. She demonstrates that clearly on this album. The Full Tilt Boogie Band sounds like a group of competent players.

But this album sounds too clinical and dispassionate. Everyone is playing and singing what they are supposed to sing and no one dares go off script. Blues rock is spontaneous and filled with emotion because that is what the blues is about. 

I like this album. I can't dislike Janis Joplin and I think this album is worth listening to. Despite its problems, there is hardly any alternative and it really is a good album. I don't really think it belongs on the 1001 Albums list. There are enough blues rock albums. The only good reason would be because there are hardly any great female blues rock singers and Janis was a peer among men.

All the songs are good. I think Move Over, Cry Baby, Half Moon, My Baby, Me and Bobby McGee and Mercedes Benz are the stand outs.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

213. Isaac Hayes | Shaft (1971)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Theme from Shaft
2. Bumpy's Lament
3. Walk from Regio's
4. Ellie's Love Theme
5. Shaft's Cab Ride
6. Cafe Regio's
7. Early Sunday Morning
8. Be Yourself
9. A Friend's Place
10. Soulsville
11. No Name Bar
12. Bumpy's Blues
13. Shaft Strikes Again
14. Do Your Thing
15. The End Theme

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Shaft is a forgettable album, mostly. The music is soul. This is a soundtrack album filled with filler. No matter how good the band is, they're still performing uninteresting, uninspired and pointless music.

This is not an album that I would willingly choose to listen to. There are some good moments on this album, but even if they were to counterbalance the filler, it wouldn't become a proper album. As far as soundtracks go, it's quite good, but to judge it as a soundtrack is not one of the criteria. Therefore, I don't recommend this unless soundtracks are your thing. I certainly don't think this belongs on the 1001 Albums list.

There are some good songs on this album. The stand outs are: Theme from Shaft, Be Yourself, Soulsville and Do Your Thing.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

208. Marvin Gaye | What's Going On (1971)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. What's Going On
2. What's Happening Brother
3. Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky)
4. Save the Children
5. God Is Love
6. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
7. Right On
8. Wholy Holy
9. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)

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What's Going On is a passionate album. The music is soul. It's a combination of bass, congas, strings, vocals. The music doesn't seem to have much structure. The bass moves the music from one place to another and Marvin Gaye's vocals follow along.

It's disappointing that the 1001 Albums list isn't listed chronologically within each year. Sly and the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On is listed before What's Going On, but the latter was released before the former. In fact, Sly had another name in mind for Riot, but he renamed the album as a response to What's Going On.

It's disappointing because the bass style is similar and mentioning the style as first and attributing to Sly makes sense in context in the context of the list, but it makes little sense historically.

Besides the music, which is really good, the songs are significant for the message in the lyrics. There are songs about the Viet Nam war, poverty, unemployment, the environment, children, drug abuse, the haves and have nots and religion. There's hope in these songs, but there's frustration, anger and bewilderment. It's just as relevant today as it was in 1971.

I think this album is fantastic. It's definitely one of the best I've ever heard. It is definitely a different kind of soul—a more socially aware soul. The music is just as energetic, but it's more conservative. This album is worth listening to and I think any serious collector would be hard pressed not to include it in his collection. It certainly also deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list.

All of the songs are excellent. The stand outs for me are: What's Going On, What's Happening Brother, Save the Children, Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology), Right On and Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler).

★★★★★★★★★★

207. Sly and the Family Stone | There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Luv N' Haight
2. Just Like A Baby
3. Poet
4. Family Affair
5. Africa Talks To You "The Asphalt Jungle"
6. There's A Riot Goin' On
7. Brave & Strong
8. (You Caught Me) Smilin'
9. Time
10. Spaced Cowboy
11. Runnin' Away
12. Thank You For Talkin' To Me Africa

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There's a Riot Goin' On is a feel-good album. The music is funk and soul. The vocals are sexy, especially the use of falsetto which is featured quite prominently. The rhythm section is outstanding. The grooves aren't complex, but they are sexy, too. What differentiates this funk from funk from the sixties is how the bass guitar is used. It's bouncy, less deep-sounding and is allowed to explore beyond the groove.

This album isn't as easily accessible as Stand!. Stand! was chock full of catchy hits. This album has a couple catchy songs, but the rest are free-flowing explorations in funk.

I didn't like this album much until I listened to it several times and now I've been won over. It has a casual, cool attitude that makes it fun to listen to. I think it's worth listening to and I think it deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list. This isn't a completely new style, but it sounds fresh and new, especially the bass.

All of the songs are good. The stand outs for me are: Luv N' Haight, Family Affair, Africa Talks To You "The Asphalt Jungle", Brave & Strong, Spaced Cowboy and Thank You For Talkin' To Me Africa.

★★★★★★★★★☆

165. Isaac Hayes | Hot Buttered Soul (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Walk On By
2. Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic
3. One Woman
4. By the Time I Get to Phoenix

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Hot Buttered Soul is a sexy album. With this album, Isaac Hayes charts the course soul will take in the 1970s. It may not seem like soul music of the 1960s. However, Isaac Hayes has the charisma of Sam Cooke and James Brown and the music has elements of James Brown's funk. What's different is it's got a harder edge to it and the groove is a lot slower.

For those who like long, slow, funky jams then this is a great album. For others, it could become boring and repetitive very quickly. I like the progression within most of the songs. They are slow, casual and carefree and slow from the outset, but slowly build up to a powerful climax.

There are only four songs on the album and they are all excellent, but none stand out above the others.

★★★★★★★★★☆

160. Sly and the Family Stone | Stand! (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Stand!
2. Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey
3. I Want to Take You Higher
4. Somebody's Watching You
5. Sing a Simple Song
6. Everyday People
7. Sex Machine
8. You Can Make It If You Try

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Stand! is a complex album. At its heart, it's a funk album. Sly and the Family Stone lay down some of the heaviest and thickest grooves you'll ever hear. However, it's got more melody than a straight funk album. It also jams more like a psychedelic rock album than a soul or funk album.

This album really comes out of nowhere, at least on the 1001 Albums list. There's just nothing else between the soul and funk of James Brown and Sam Cooke in the mid 1960s and this album. With this album and its heavy rocking groove, Sly Stone has charted the course for black music in the 1970s. This album should have been ordered before The Temptations' Cloud Nine since it was released earlier.

I think this is one of the best albums I've ever heard. It has a great sound and a great attitude. There is more hope for humanity in Everyday People than in any other song so far on this list. You Can Make It If You Try is obvious in its positivity, but Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey is more subtle. The other songs are just as uplifting, but more from the music than from the lyrics.

The stand out songs are Stand!, Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey, I Want to Take You Higher, Sing a Simple Song, Everyday People and You Can Make It If You Try.

★★★★★★★★★★

159. The Temptations | Cloud Nine (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Cloud Nine
2. I Heard It Through the Grapevine
3. Runaway Child, Running Wild
4. Love is a Hurtin' Thing
5. Hey Girl
6. Why Did She Have to Leave Me (Why Did She Have to Go)
7. I Need Your Lovin'
8. Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me
9. I Gotta Find a Way (To Get You Back)
10. Gonna Keep On Tryin' till I Win Your Love

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Cloud Nine is a surprising album. The musical style doesn't have obvious connections to anything on the 1001 Albums list. A connection to the early and mid '60s soul albums seems the only plausible connection, but even that seems tenuous at best.

The bass guitar has a pulsating and playful sound and is the main driver of the rhythm. The vocals come in short bursts and are accompanied by a bass vocalist on the low end and a falsetto vocalist on the high end. Several of the songs have social commentary in the lyrics. It's not unique, but it's more direct and personal.

This is a good album, but not a great one. The first half of the album is the most interesting part. I tend to lose interest when listening to the second half, but there are some good songs. This album is certainly worth listening to because it presents a new style.

One frustrating thing about this list is that, although the albums are in chronological order by year of release, they aren't necessarily presented in chronological order within the year. So, Cloud Nine is presented before Sly and the Family Stone's Stand!, but Stand! was released before Cloud Nine according to Wikipedia. However, Stand! also had the funky sound, so Sly and the Family Stone may not have been the innovators, but they were ahead of The Temptations. So, there's an attribution problem with the way the albums are ordered. Of course, there's a potential attribution problem because the list is incomplete, but if this list is worth anything, it should be including innovative albums by default.

The songs are decent enough, but the stand outs are Cloud Nine, Runaway Child, Running Wild (although I really hate in the middle where a kid is screaming "I want my mother!"), Love Is a Hurting Thing, I Gotta Find a Way (To Get You Back) and Gonna Keep On Tryin' till I Win Your Love. I would have liked to have include I Heard It Through the Grapevine, but other artists have done a much better job.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

151. Dusty Springfield | Dusty in Memphis (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Just a Little Lovin'
2. So Much Love
3. Son of a Preacher Man
4. I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore
5. Don't Forget About Me
6. Breakfast in Bed
7. Just One Smile
8. The Windmills of Your Mind
9. In the Land of Make Believe
10. No Easy Way Down
11. I Can't Make It Alone

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Note: The cover on the left was used for the US release and the cover on the right was used for the UK release.

Dusty in Memphis is disappointing album. Actually, it's not that bad. The music is really good, the sound quality is excellent, and Dusty Springfield has such a powerful and beautiful voice. The disappointing thing is that for a soul album, she lacks the emotion that a soul singer needs to put into each and every song. The sole exception may be Don't Forget About Me.

I also wasn't thrilled with her choice of songs. Just a Little Lovin' is OK. The songs written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King, So Much Love, Don't Forget About Me, No Easy Way Down and I Can't Make It Alone, are winners. Son of a Preacher Man and Breakfast in Bed are great choices. However, the two Randy Newman songs, I Don't Want to Hear It and Just One Smile, just don't work. The Windmills of Your Mind is uninspiring and In the Land of Make Believe is boring.

I wanted to like this album more than I did. The stand out songs are the ones mentioned positively in the preceding paragraph.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

117. Aretha Franklin | Aretha: Lady Soul (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Chain Of Fools
2. Money Won't Change You
3. People Get Ready
4. Niki Hoeky
5. (You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman
6. (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone
7. Good to Me As I Am to You
8. Come Back Baby
9. Groovin'
10. Ain't No Way

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Aretha: Lady Soul is an energetic album. The songs are soul, naturally. Aretha Franklin sounds great. The music is great, too. The bass creates nice grooves and is really dynamic at the same time.

For some reason though, great music and great singing don't combine to make a great album. One reason is that most of the songs are too short. Another reason is that the songs, while great individually, don't connect together very well.

I wish I could like this album more, but it just doesn't keep me interested all the way through. The first half of the album is certainly better than the second half. So, I recommend listening to the first half. But, since it's short enough, you might as well listen to the second half as well. The stand out songs are: Chain of Fools, Money Won't Change You, People Get Ready, Niki Hoeky and (You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

106. Aretha Franklin | I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Respect
2. Drown in My Own Tears
3. I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
4. Soul Serenade
5. Don't Let Me Lose This Dream
6. Baby, Baby, Baby
7. Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business)
8. Good Times
9. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
10. Save Me
11. A Change Is Gonna Come

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I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is a passionate album. The songs are soul. It's been a while since there's been a singer who invests so much emotion in the songs—and boy are these refreshing. 

Usually vocalists are accompanied by a competent band that lets them shine. Aretha has an outstanding band with a great rhythm section—see if you can keep from tapping your feet—and she's got some wonderful backup singers. But that's not what makes her great; she'd be great even without a band. 

This is a great album. It is consistent all the way through, yet there's a lot of variety. Without a doubt, this album is worth owning. It doesn't distract if you want to have it as background music, and≠ it's compelling enough to listen carefully to.

There's not a bad song on this album and typically I'd list them all, but the real stand outs are Respect, I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You), Do Right Woman, Do Right Man, Save Me and A Change Is Gonna Come.

★★★★★★★★★★

75. Nina Simone | Wild Is the Wind (1966)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. I Love Your Lovin' Ways
2. Four Women
3. What More Can I Say
4. Lilac Wine
5. That's All I Ask
6. Break Down And Let It All Out
7. Why Keep On Breaking My Heart
8. Wild Is the Wind
9. Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair
10. If I Should Lose You
11. Either Way I Lose

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Wild Is the Wind is a gritty album. The music does a good job supporting Nina Simone, since the music is all about her singing. She has deep and powerful voice; it's not beautiful, but it's emotional–and that's what really matter.


And it's the emotion which links all these songs together. Without that, these songs become an arbitrary collection. She puts more emotion in one note than most singers put in a whole career. 


The first time I heard this album, I liked it, but it didn't appreciate it. After having listened to it a few more times, I'm just so overwhelmed by the honesty and purity of her singing.


The songs are all great, but the really outstanding ones are: I Love Your Lovin' Ways, Four Women, Lilac Wine, Break Down And Let It All Out and Wild Is the Wind.

★★★★★★★★ ☆☆

51. Otis Redding | Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Ole Man Trouble
2. Respect
3. Change Gonna Come
4. Down in the Valley
5. I've Been Loving You Too Long
6. Shake
7. My Girl
8. Wonderful World
9. Rock Me Baby
10. Satisfaction
11. You Don't Miss Your Water

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Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul is heavy, sexy album. Otis Redding seduces us with a voice that is as smooth as silk and as rough as gravel. When the music is slow it comes with a mean groove and when it's more lively it borders on being funk.

Otis Redding does well re-imaging contemporary hits. However, I didn't really like the use of horns on Wonderful World and Satisfaction.

While the songs are super, they don't jell into a cohesive album. It's more like a greatest hits compilation. It's still worth listening to. The songs that stand out are Ole Man Trouble, Respect, Change Gonna Come, Down in the Valley, I've Been Loving You Too Long, My Girl and Rock Me Baby. 
★★★★★★★★☆☆

40. James Brown | Live at the Apollo (1963)

Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Introduction to James Brown "Mr. Dynamite" / Theme
2. I'll Go Crazy
3. Try Me
4. Think
5. I Don’t Mind
6. Lost Someone
7. Medley: Please, Please, Please/You’ve Got The Power/I Found Someone/Why Do You Do Me/I Want You So Bad/I Love You, Yes I Do/Strange Things Happen/Bewildered/Please, Please, Please
8. Night Train

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James Brown 'Live' at the Apollo is an uneven album. Most of the songs are between two and three minutes long, but Lost Someone and the medley are over ten and six minutes long, respectively. The total album is a little over a half hour long, so those two songs take up more than half the album.

Despite the imbalance, the music is really exciting and fun. James Brown does a great job winning over the crowd. This recording captures the crowd's response well. If it hadn't, Lost Someone and the medley and, subsequently, the whole album would have fallen flat. It's quite clear that James Brown can win over a crowd just as well as Sam Cooke can.

It's a very good album, but after listening to it a few times Lost Someone loses its freshness and becomes quite tedious. It's certainly one of the best songs on the album; the others being I'll Go Crazy, Think and the medley. 
★★★★★★★★☆☆

38. Sam Cooke | Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (1963)

Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Feel It
2. Chain Gang
3. Cupid
4. Medley: It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons
5. Twistin' the Night Away
6. Somebody Have Mercy
7. Bring It On Home to Me
8. Nothing Can Change This Love
9. Having a Party

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Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 is a raw and sexy album. Sam Cooke is irresistible. When he first comes on stage, the crowd is subdued. Then from one song to the next he builds up the sexual tension and by the end of the show he's got them whipped into a frenzy and ready to go home to let their sexual urges take over.

The style of music is something that hasn't been encountered on the 1001 albums list yet. Most of the songs have a slow groove with either Sam singing or a saxophone playing. There's certainly a relation to the blues with the groove. Anyway, it's hypnotic, seductive and fun.

This album instantly became one of my favorites when I first heard it. It's a perfect album to put on when you've had a bad day, but it's also a prefect album to put when you've had a great day. Chain Gang, Cupid and the last half of the album: Twistin' the Night Away, Somebody Have Mercy, Bring It On Home to Me, Nothing Can Change This Love and Having a Party are amazing. Feel It and the It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons are great too. What a great album. 
★★★★★★★★★★