James Brown – “Sex Machine” MoFi

Description

James Brown wants to know one thing before he and his band begin Sex Machine. Can I get into the thing, really?, he asks. His cohorts enthusiastically respond in the affirmative. And for the next hour and change, Mr. Dynamite gets into it and more, turning in a sweat-soaked, feet-moving, hip-swiveling, emotion-purging, in-the-red, drop-everything-youre-doing-and-dance performance for the ages. Ranked by Rolling Stone among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, the sweeping 1970 effort towers as a testament to Brownsinimitable legacy as well as the peak powers of his voice, vibrancy,
and bands. Despite involving multiple groups and both studio andonstage recording locations, Brown not only makes it all work. Hemakes it positively electrifying.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity RecordPressing, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, MobileFidelitys numbered-edition 180g 33RPM 2LP set presents SexMachine in audiophile sound for the first time. It explodes with theenergy the lightning-strike music demands. Dynamic, immediate, present, airy: Everything from the brassiness and fluidity of the hornsto the snap and decay of the snare to the swell and carry of theorgan comes across in full-range perspective. Then theres Brownssuperhuman singing, which here emerges with a purity, naturalism,and transparency that ensure you feel everything. This special 55thanniversary reissue of Browns monster funk statement furtherexhibits a combination of clarity, solidity, separation, and imagingthat helps bring to light what he and his crack ensembles committedto tape. Aint it funky? Indeed.