For those tired of today's mainstream music scene, which seems to combine the worst of both worlds with its mix of the pointlessly offensive and the blandly sanitized, James Brown's Sex Machine is a rousing shot of pure energy, a reminder that music can have the ability to move its listeners in more ways than one. Sex Machine is a supreme distillation of decades worth of black music, compressing rock, soul, and R&B into a lean, frighteningly efficient sound that's had hips shaking since its release. Regardless of your age, race, or any other irrelevant superficial characteristic, this hour-plus-long live recording's raw, sweaty power effortlessly comes accross in every dizzyingly nimble horn inflection, every razor-sharp guitar line, and every intricate polyrhythm. And of course, towering over it all is the singular presence of James himself, exhibiting his unmistakable charisma as he shouts, howls, and wails his upbeat, liberating lyrics.
This album's finest moments are to be found in its tightly-played, compulsively danceable funk numbers, most notably the opening Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine, Brother Rapp (Part I & Part II), I Got the Feelin', and the high-octane closer Mother Popcorn. Driven by propulsive grooves and frenetic arrangements, these tracks and others like them all prove extremely effective when it comes to loosening inhibitions and provoking unconscious spasms of head-bobbing and foot-tapping. However, that's not to discount the record's emotional, horn-fueled balladry, led by the supremely soulful and musically complex Bewildered and If I Ruled the World. This set also throws in the instrumental double-shot of Lowdown Popcorn, which allows you to hear the band's instrumental chops if they weren't apparent already. All in all, Sex Machine is an essential document of the career of one of popular music's most important performers, and a must-buy for non-lame-o's everywhere.
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Good
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Outstanding
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Satisfactory
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