Re:The Genius of James Brown
by agumonkey on Tuesday August 23, 2016 @12:25PM
(#12344972)
I don't know his earliest period, but hiring Bootsy collins, IMO, altered his music, and propelled bassline funk even higher than he did before. Bootsy was different. His work in parliament is unique, and pfunk is musically significant. Both in itself, in its direct influence, and indirect later gene spreading through samples. Dance music wouldn't be the same without this cat.
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I think the Bootsy connection is over-stated, actually. He was only with Brown for 11 months, and while there were a handful of key singles cut (including Sex Machine), the associate was really quite brief and didn't result in that many recordings.
If you look at the recording from late 1969 and early 1970, like Mother Popcorn, Ain't It Funky Now, Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud), the direction to harder funk was already very apparent.
This is to say nothing of, say, what Larry Grapham was doing with the Family Stone circa '68-'69, or other west coast funk pioneers.