Live At the Apollo, James Brown

It's Black music month!

Live At the Apollo, James Brown, 1963, :31

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I get that this is considered one of the greatest live albums of all time, but for me I hear more crowd noise than power on stage.  Don't get me wrong, this is a terrific concert with a very talented band, but being a fan of Brown's classic studio material and having read the unending hype about this album, I was expecting something almost... primordial.  Instead, it seems no more than a fine live album.  Maybe I just lack the hipness or funk to appreciate it, but off the top of my head I can list the Clash's From Here to Eternity or Dylan's 1966 Manchester concerts, or Midnight Oil's Scream in Blue or Lou Reed's Perfect Night as more powerful and electrifying live performances.  Favorite tracks: the hard-hitting "Think," the city-shout-out "Night Train."  The medleys are good as well.

Night Beat, Sam Cooke

It's Black Music month!

Night Beat, Sam Cooke, 1963, :37

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Cooke's glorious, golden vocals over sparse and sometimes (as in "Lost and Lookin'") totally absent instrumentation.  It's not all rocking, but it's powerful, moody and evocative.  Favorites: "Mean Old World," "Little Red Rooster," "Shake, Rattle & Roll," "You Gotta Move."

With the Beatles, the Beatles

Currently doing one album for each year, 1960-2020. Today: 1963.

With the Beatles, the Beatles, 1963, :33

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The second Beatles album. I’ve never actually heard this album all the way through. In fact, I think I have never so much as heard maybe six of these songs, ever. Some Beatles fan I am! In my opinion, the Beatles' godlike songwriting skills tend to overshadow their very solid interpretation ability. They should get more credit for it.  Their rollicking "Please Mr. Postman" overshadows the original, and even Chuck Berry and Smokey Robinson's material, if not definitively redone, are given a bold new energy by these four daring lads from Liverpool.  Some favorite tracks: "I Wanna Be Your Man," "It Won’t Be Long," "Hold Me Tight," "You Really Got a Hold On Me."