I read about this documentary in David Wiegand's column, which appears in today's SF Chronicle. I'm dying to see this show, especially because Wiegand says that unlike a lot of musician documentaries, this one is heavy on the music and light on the talking heads.
People make documentaries about musicians all the time, and some of them are rich with insight. But even among the best of the bunch, few are as thorough about the artist’s music as Alex Gibney’s “Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown,” airing Monday on HBO.Sounds awesome, right. I'm hoping they show a condensed version of the six-cape finale at some point. (Maybe is was less then six capes, but I know it had to be at least four in the shows I saw)
The basics of Brown’s early career, from the time he and the late Bobby Byrd formed the Famous Flames, through his rise to singular prominence through the mid-’70s, are amply covered in the two-hour film, produced by Mick Jagger. But what sets it apart from other films about musicians is how deeply Gibney explores Brown’s music through extensive interviews with band members — Maceo and Melvin Parker, Jabo Starks, Clyde Stubblefield, PeeWee Ellis, Martha High and Bootsy Collins — and other musicians such as Christian McBride and Questlove.
As a closing treat, here is James at the TAMI's with a four-cape finale. If this doesn't charge you up and put a smile on your kisser, you need to check in at the mortuary.
*** (Looks like the fourth cape was ready to be put on him, but being the TAMI show they settled for what I would call three-and-a half. However, at the regular live shows he would stretch it out to what I recall to be five or six)
1 comment:
I saw this doc. the other nite and was very glad to be able to watch James Brown singing and to compare the bands he played with. When I was young, listening to him on Chicago radio a lot, I was not enamored by the repetition as a boy, but always appreciated his soul of course.
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