Damn Right I Am Somebody (LP) The JBs

In 1974 one of James Brown’s most important band-leaders and sidemen – trombonist Fred Wesley would release not one but two albums as a leader including Damn Right, I Am Somebody. Starting with an evocative cover it was clear to fans that this album wasn’t all about a party. Deep messages abound in the songs here, such as the nearly 10-minute
workout “I’m Paying Taxes, But What Am I Buying.”

Social messages aside, Fred and his assembled JBs were a party-moving funk machine at heart, as heard on “If You Don’t Get It The First Time, Back Up And Try It Again Paarty” and the laid-back groove of “Same Beat” (with prototypical sampling of Jesse Jackson exhorting an audience to chant “I am / Somebody”). Nestled among these raise-your-fist classics is one of the most experimental funk cut ever made: “Blow Your Head,” known to relatively modern listeners as the backbone of Public Enemy’s “Public Enemy #1” (from 1987).

Get On Down pays reverent tribute to this classic by pressing it on 150-gram vinyl, housed in a 1970s style Stoughton jacket in an 8-gauge custom polybag emblazoned with an embossed People Records logo. In addition, the package comes with a 22” x 22” poster featuring the original cover art, as well as a 7-inch flexidisc of the rare “Unrubbed Version” (without Moog) of Fred Wesley & The JBs’ 1973 single “Blow Your Head.” This version was only available previously on 2000’s James Brown’s Funky People Part 3 compilation.