I can't get enough of Jame's Brown's "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose". It's an awesome song, funky as JB gets, and up until a few hours ago I hadn't heard a version, be it a cover or one of several by Brown himself, that I didn't like. That streak has been broken. Today I heard a version of it by Dick Hyman, an early adopter of the Moog, the first commercially available analog synthesizer. Hyman pretty much banked on the novelty of the Moog, recording more pop oriented material then other early adopters. His version was released in 1969, the same year as Brown's original and is pretty out there for that early, but lacking the organic feel of the original. Funky it is not. To wit, I listened to it sitting down. I didn't even have an urge to get up and shake ass. Not so with other versions, particularly the Godfather's.
Besides Brown's original and instrumental versions, a rerecorded version and a remix, two members of Brown's extended funky family also recorded it, Lyn Collins and Marva Whitney, both maintaining the groove of the original. Black Randy and the Metro Squad's instrumental version, released on a predominantly punk label, sounds more like no wave ala the Contortions than funk or punk rock. That they were a fixture in the late seventies L.A. punk scene speaks to the diversity of the era. Like many records put out back then, in hindsight it's amazing that it exists at all.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:James Brown - Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose (LP Version) mp3 at ATumbler(?) With the JBs. Lethal. 1986 extended version of 1970 version.
James Brown - Give It Up or Turnit Loose (original) (streaming) at YouTube 1969
James Brown - Give It Up or Turnit A Loose (instrumental) at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Note: Although credited to the James Brown Band, it is from an Iranian pressing that includes an instrumental Sly and the Family Stone cover, so...
Lyn Collins - Give It Up or Turnit A Loose (streaming) at YouTube
Marva Whitney - Give It Up or Turnit A Loose (streaming) at YouTube
Dick Hyman - Give It Up or Turnit A Loose (streaming) at YouTube
Wilbert Longmire - Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose mp3 at Funky 16 Corners Go there to get it.
Black Randy and the Metro Squad - Give It Up or Turnit A Loose mp3 at Killed By Death Go there to get it.
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