Refreshed

JAMES BROWN
In the Jungle Groove
Motherlode
(Polydor/Chronicles)
GEORGE CLINTON
Six Degrees of P-Funk: The Best of George Clinton & His Funky Family
(Epic/Legacy)
THE TEMPTATIONS
Psychedelic Soul
(Motown/Chronicles)
"Make it funky!" cry the backup singers on the James Brown hit of the same name. R&B turned funkward in the 60s, mostly on the strength of the sides the Godfather of Soul and upstarts Sly & the Family Stone were cutting, but it really hit its stride in the 70s. Brown, Earth Wind & Fire, the P-Funk mob, the Ohio Players and dozens of other acts made the dance floors good and greasy, sometimes in concert with that rising dance music called disco, often at war with it. The funky stuff continued in the 80s, thanks to Prince, P-Funk impresario George Clinton and bands like Cameo and Fishbone, but its edges had softened, its grooves smoothed out into near-easy listening cadences. The 90s found funk the province of white metalheads like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the hip-hop nation, which sampled funk records incessantly. Somehow, though, both ends of the contemporary funk spectrum managed to stiffen the beat, losing some of the rubbery goodness that makes the style so irresistibly compelling. Fortunately, record companies are digging into their archives to highlight some of the classic funk tracks of the past. If, to paraphrase the Temptations, funky music sho' nuff turns you on, especially the classic joints, there's plenty of it out there in remastered form to put a slide in your glide and a dip on your hip.

Though the music it contains dates from the 60s and 70s, James Brown's In the Jungle Groove was originally released in 1986 in an attempt to capitalize on the success of the hit single "Living in America." It consists of remixes, mono versions and re-edits of pre-existing tracks, with a couple of unreleased cuts thrown in for good measure. Brown had no input on its selection and probably profited little from sales; purists may object to its existence based on that alone. From a musical standpoint, however, there's not a flaw to be found. The rhythm sections (bassists Bootsy Collins and "Sweet Charles" Sherrell, drummers Clyde Stubblefield and Melvin Parker) cook, Jimmy Nolan's guitars chank like no one before or since, the horns add the perfect punctuations, and above it all is Brown himself, singing, grunting, squealing, exhorting his crew to funkier heights and stinkier grooves, even adding a bit of organ here and there by way of exclamation point. Done in the day before "remix" meant "reconstruction of a track using elements that have nothing to do with the original song," the remixes of "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" and "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" simply bring the songs into clearer, sharper focus, especially the rhythm section—Collins' bass, Stubblefield's drums and Johnny Griggs' congas are positively lethal. Neither the mono mix of "Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved," with its joyous shouts from Brown foil Bobby Byrd, nor the re-edit of "Soul Power" lose any of the might in their righteous grooves due to studio tinkering. "Funky Drummer" appears in both its original incarnation and a short, drum-heavy (or perhaps that should be "heavier") edit, marking the first time this classic single, containing probably the most sampled beat in history, had been included on an album. The previously unheard cuts include the slight but still burning "I Got to Move," featuring the early 70s "Sex Machine" band, and, as a bonus to this issue, the more relaxed "Blind Man Can See It," an extended version of a track originally from the soundtrack of the film Black Caesar. "Hot Pants (She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants)" and a lesser-known but shatteringly stanky joint called "It's a New Day" serve as the ringers on the record. Most of the songs stretch well past the five minute mark, but that's as it should be; repetition and mesmerism are friends of the funk. In the Jungle Groove may be made from spare parts and secondhand jive, but it's still a supremely listenable, undeniably funky tour de force. (more)

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