Chuck Brown was the Godfather of Go-Go Music. Plus some live albums from the '70s.
Gentle Giant - On Reflection (live) (1976)
Glockenspiel, cello, violin, recorder, 4 (or 5)-part vocal fugue accompanied by the same musicians providing instrumental backup for those parts, but not the parts they are singing, electric guitar, keyboards, drums, BELLS, etc. in ONE SONG. Gentle Giant was too clever, musical, English, talented....just amazing... too good for American audiences. Their studio creations could be abrasive and angular, but this might be the best live album by a Prog group in the decade. This is a live album with some mistakes, but that's because this is an incredible, real, raw representation of a Prog band at the peak of their powers. Tour, tour, tour, tour...backing group for many many bands that you know. Black Sabbath being one. Can you imagine?
James Brown - Ain't It Funky Now (live) (1971) Live at The Olympia, Paris
As soon as this groove hits you, you wonder how a human being can be so rhythmic, so bred-in-the-bone entertaining, so giving. So broken. But this track always makes me smile because you can hear the rehearsals that went into it. Creating funk like this is a science. People try to understand and recreate, but damn. It's like pretending to be funny. You are or you are not. Brown's organ solo is terrible. But I love it.
Todd Rundgren's Utopia - Another Life (live) (1975) I love this version of this song. It has everything. It sounds like Zappa smushed together with Bowie smushed together with Chicago. I don't care for the rest of the album, but this is impressive to me.
Frank Zappa - Elvis Has Just Left The Building (live) (1988)
Ted Nugent - Stormtroopin' (live) (1977) I know. What an ass. But in my pubescent vulnerability, I found his two Buffalo Auditorium concerts very exciting (and nearly sold out). Selling 16,000 tickets to snow-bound youth is not a small feat. No one would ever say that THAT Ted didn't bring it. Like Gentle Giant, tour, tour, tour, tour. His live album, Double Live Gonzo, is pretty good. I could have picked any number of (non-scatological) songs. Kinda like Zappa.
Grand Funk Railroad - Inside Looking Out (live) (1975) This Animals cover had been a live standard since it was first recorded by the band in 1969. I often wonder what goes into live albums like this, specifically in the way of crowd volume and performance. Ever since I learned that Kiss Alive was doctored thusly, I guess I've become cynical. I listen for it. If there's a live performance without mistakes, it sort of bothers me. And we might never learn the truth. That being said, I owned two Grand Funk live albums. This version is my favorite song from both of them, and the keys really help to flesh out what was a pretty barren version on the first live album. How many times did I practice those hammer-ons on the g-string whenever I got a new guitar? Mark Farner, I believe, left the band for "religious" reasons. That honky could sing.
James Brown - The Big Payback (live) (1974) Live in Zaire is the recording of Brown’s 1974 concert that was part of the build-up to the “Rumble in the Jungle”, the famed boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali.
The Soul Searchers - Blow Your Whistle (1974)
Trouble Funk - Side B (1981) Go-Go funk band from Washington D.C. that released their own 4-sided album of go-go jamming. This is side 2. They ultimately landed on Island Records, where they proceeded to be neutered and rendered obscure. Can you imagine being in this audience?
The Soul Searchers - We The People (1972)
Charles Brown.
Cameo - Rigor Mortis (1976) Like a cross between Fatback Band, EWF, and Parliament. This isn't go-go per se. Just another band that started in the Soul Searchers/Gap Band mold, only to evolve into something marketable on its own. What do you think of when you think of Cameo? Larry Blackmon's codpiece? I think of that wonderful single "Candy". Gap Band makes me think of their tight harmonies on Stevie Wonder's "Ain't Gonna Stand For It", and of course that big snare drum.
Soulfull Strutters - Let Your Feelings Go (1974)
Look at this record's price on Ebay.
The Soul Searchers - Funk To The Folks (1974)
Cameo - Find My Way (1977) From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack "Thank God It’s Friday".
Cameo - Roller Skates (1980)
Chuck Brown - I'm Bad (1987)
Utopia - Love is The Answer (1977)
Notice that this is a cut-out. We covered that on another show. This is a great record. Don't be affected by that.
Leo's Sunshipp - Give Me The Sunshine (1978) I remember reading that the group's name comes from the fact that all the members were Leos. I'm a Leo. Did me no good. Anyhow, you should read about this short-lived group.
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