Bootsy Collins & Lindsey Buckingham Review

You know it when you hear it, but what is Funk? Jim and Greg trace a history of the genre with legendary bassist  Bootsy Collins.

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It seems like just yesterday that the British first invaded rock and roll. But, many early recordings by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who are so old they were about to fall into public domain. However, the European Union just extended that copyright law from 50 years to 70 years, giving record companies another two decades to collect big revenues. It's being called Cliff’s Law after pop  singer  Cliff Richard, but other artists don't think the law will benefit them. Here in the U.S., copyright law allows for artists to reclaim ownership of their work after 35 years. So, many American musicians who made recordings in the 1970s, including Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Don Henley, are able to file claims. But the big four labels are heavily resisting, claiming that performers were mere employees doing "work for hire," and thus have no rights.

In other news across the pond, U.K.  culture secretary  Jeremy Hunt has called on search engines, such as Google, to bar links to websites with pirated material. You expect these kind of restrictions in China, but not necessarily in England. Hunt has rejected suggestions that this is "an assault on the 'freedom' of the internet," but for Google that's exactly what it is. They said they already work with copyright owners to remove infringing materials. So it looks like legislation is the next step.

Bootsy Collins

Time to get funky. Jim and Greg are joined by Bootsy Collins to go through the history of Funk. The heart of the genre is the rhythm. When James Brown wanted to "give the drummer some," he meant it. In addition, as funk grew so did the development of the black band. Previously, as with doo wop groups, the emphasis was on the singer. Bootsy's own career as a singer, songwriter and bassist mirrors the development of funk. After performing in the Pacemakers with his brother Catfish, both Collins men joined James Brown's backing band The JB’s. Bootsy credits James Brown with teaching him the concept of "The One," and they collaborated on funk classics like "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "Super Bad." His next move was to Detroit to work with George Clinton on Parliament and Funkadelic, and he later formed his own group, Rubber Band. His latest album is aptly named The Funk Capital of the World.

To cap off the segment, Jim and Greg talk about two significant funk tracks. Greg plays "It’s Your Thing," by The Isley Brothers, featuring virtuosic bass playing by a 16-year old Ernie Isley. Jim goes to Bootsy's home state and plays The Ohio Players' song "Funky Worm."

Seeds We Sow Lindsey Buckingham

Seeds We Sow

'70s rock act Fleetwood Mac continues to tour today, but longtime member Lindsey Buckingham still makes room to record on his own. And that can be taken literally-Seeds We Sow is essentially a one-man-band record full of lush orchestrations, guitar and percussion. But, in contrast to the beautiful songs are the dark and weird lyrics. Greg hears that not all is right with Buckingham, but plenty is right with Seeds We Sow. He says Buy It. Jim is the first to admit he is not a Fleetwood Mac fan. For him there was too much rock excess. But he loves that Buckingham lets his freak flag fly solo, and is a convert on this album. He agrees, double Buy It.

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