Songs of the Day

Today, I'm reviewing the first half of the album (seven tracks): "Coldblooded," "Hell," "My Thang," "Sayin' and Doin' It," "Please, Please, Please," "When the Saints Go Marching In," and "These Foolish Things."  Man, James' band was so fucking killing.  They really set the precedent for what a "tight band" was meant to sound like.  I love the latin influences throughout these tracks, which is much thanks to percussion - it adds a nice flavor to the tunes.  It's especially present in "Please, Please, Please," and lemme tell you, James' spanish is hilarious.  "Yo te quiero muche" - yeah, "muche" isn't a word, and he keeps saying really random shit, but I dig it all the same.  A common thread throughout James' music is an incredible horn section, and that's most certainly present in this first collection of songs.  I especially love the groove on "My Thang," definitely a solid, funky track that doesn't have too much going on, but just enough.  "Sayin and Doin' It" is my favorite of the day - super funky stuff, and a great horn line!  The only thing I don't dig is the gong after every song - it gets repetitive and keeps tricking my mind into thinking that I'm about to listen to "Jungle Boogie" haha.