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(More customer reviews)May I respectfully say, "James Brown Live At Chastain Park", take a rest.
Here we have two transcendant excursions into Soul Music history, 1968 concerts made within about two weeks of each other, one at the Apollo, the other at the Boston Gardens, and whether or not the proverbial floodgates will be opened, at this point it doesn't matter. The concerts are amazing: Soul Brother Number One at the very top of his form, a singing, dancing, band-directing, audience mesmerizing phenomenon. His renditions of the ballads "Try Me", "Bewildered", the gospel-jazz expositions like "Get It Together", "There Was A Time", and "Cold Sweat" are of course the best out now on DVD.
The earlier TV Special called "Man To Man" appears to be the final TV cut, no extras. The video quality is not what it should be for an artist of his stature, though let's remember that it was done on videotape by Metromedia in New York, not by a network. The viewer should not be upset with some of the trendy kaleidoscope effects, and some hard edits.
We have the much-discussed, much-requested concert from Boston, telecast one day after the assassination of Doctor Martin Luther King. The atmosphere is naturally tense, involves Mayor Kevin White, who delivers a powerful speech.
As ticketholders were offered a refund so as to stay at home and watch the taping, the audience is comparatively sparse. Yet the consummate showman is still able to elicit audible screams on his passionate, intense, sometimes whispered, sometimes belted "It's Man's, Man's, Man's World". He's also able to excite those patrons...the initiated already know the story of those who rushed the stage on a night that all were asked to remember Doctor King and enjoy James Brown in Peace. It was on outpouring of Love but the camera lens can distort. And Brown knew it.
There are two songs live from the Olympia, 1966 and 1967, though the jacket says 1968 and 1967. The latter was totally unexpected by this Brownologist: the Live At The Apollo, Volume Two arrangemet of "It's A Man's....World"! Not gonna give it all up at this juncture - suffice to say, it's way better on this DVD than on the recent, expanded CD reissue.
The Documentary on Disc Three is surely worth an Oscar.
The bits and pieces of that 1968 concert now form into an amazing whole, which the Documentary Producer duly notes was long, long overdue for commercial release. To support his backstory, is the sensuous Marva Whitney, his 1967-1970 Diva (Disc Two should have included some of her performance); and Charles Bobbitt, his Manager, who tells the story of how he became James Brown's Manager - and how he had to watch the turnstiles that night...and the safety of his friend and client.
Click Here to see more reviews about: I Got the Feelin': James Brown in the 60's (2008)
I Got the Feelin': James Brown in the '60s is the definitive look at JB's on-stage prowess, including an acclaimed documentary, two previously unreleased concerts, and more. With full-length versions of many classics, including"I Feel Good," "Out Of Sight," "Cold Sweat," "Try Me," "I Got The Feelin'," "It's A Man's Man's Man's World," "Bewildered," and "Please, Please, Please," I Got the Feelin': James Brown in the '60s is an essential part of any music lover's collection. DISC 1: THE NIGHT JAMES BROWN SAVED BOSTON Features the director's cut of the acclaimed VH1 film The Night James Brown Saved Boston, which tells the story of a 1968 concert that not only averted riots in Boston in the aftermath of MLK's assassination, but also set James Brown on a revolutionary new path.Includes additional interviews with members of James Brown's band, friends and colleagues, plus a panel discussion from the film's premiere in Boston. DISC 2: LIVE AT THE BOSTON GARDEN Features the historic 1968 Boston Garden concert as originally broadcast by WGBH. Contains additional audio from the radio simulcast of the concert. DISC 3: LIVE AT THE APOLLO '68 Features Man to Man: James Brown Live at The Apollo Theater 1968, a TV special taped the week before the Boston show and unseen for 40 years! Plus bonus performances from 1967 and 1968 shows at L'Olympia in Paris, AND the legendary version of "Out of Sight" from The T.A.M.I. Show (1964).
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