The Chambers Brothers - The Time Has Come

Album: The Time Has Come
Size: 128,2 MB
Time: 55:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1967/2000
Styles: R&B/Soul/Gospel mix
Art: Full

1. All Strung Out Over You (2:30)
2. People Get Ready (3:52)
3. I Can't Stand It (2:42)
4. Romeo & Juliet (4:32)
5. In The Midnight Hour (5:33)
6. So Tired (4:06)
7. Uptown (2:57)
8. Please Don't Leave Me (3:00)
9. What The World Needs Now Is Love (3:20)
10. Time Has Come Today (11:06)
11. Dinah (Bonus) (2:24)
12. Falling In Love (Bonus) (2:18)
13. Love Me Like The Rain (Bonus) (2:50)
14. Time Has Come Today (Single Version One) (Bonus) (3:52)

This, the Chambers Brothers' coming-of-age record, was a well-timed and even better executed exercise in modern record-making. The brothers had recorded several excellent gospel-folk sides on a few labels (including CBS) in the mid-'60s. They were darlings of the folk set, and even sang backup on a few unreleased Bob Dylan sessions in 1965. By 1967, they were at loose ends. Having demoed a slightly demented song that year called "Time Has Come Today," the group entered the studio with producer David Rubinson, who was fresh from some critical acclaim after recording Moby Grape.

The resulting album and subsequent title track hit were huge successes, especially on FM radio. The rest of the album shows the brothers not just embracing the psychedelic trends, but also redefining their R&B leanings. (The 2000 CD reissue of Time Has Come on Columbia/Legacy adds three 1966-1967 non-LP B-sides, as well as the first single version of "Time Has Come Today," which is substantially different from the familiar one on the album.) /Matthew Greenwald, AllMusic

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The Chambers Brothers - Feelin' The Blues

Album: Feelin' The Blues
Size: 78,8 MB
Time: 34:06
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1969/2007
Styles: Blues/Soul/Gospel mix
Art: Full

1. Girls, We Love You (3:27)
2. I Got A Woman (6:34)
3. House Of The Rising Sun (6:12)
4. Don't Lose Your Cool (1:49)
5. Just A Closer Walk With Thee (5:32)
6. Blues Get Off My Shoulder (3:16)
7. Travel On My Way (4:09)
8. Undecided (3:05)

Musical siblings George Chambers (bass/vocals), Willie Chambers (guitar/vocals), Lester Chambers (harmonica/vocals), and Joe Chambers (guitar/vocals) were raised on rural gospel in their native Mississippi before switching over to folk and then soulful blues and R&B-fueled rock. The Chambers Brothers' recordings issued by the Los Angeles-based Vault label were nearly four years old when Feelin' the Blues hit the streets in 1970. The band's style had changed quite drastically from old-school blues, soul, and pop to the longer psychedelic jams heard on their international hit "Time Has Come Today."

Although the mixture of live and studio selections gives the collection an odds-and-sods vibe, several of the performances are among the best of the Vault Records-era material. Somewhat contrasting with the album's title, the Chambers actually cover a wide spectrum of music on Feelin' the Blues. Their roots can be heard throughout the flawless interpretation of the sacred standards "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" and the excellent "Travel on My Way." Similarly, the midtempo reading of Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman" offers the Chambers an opportunity to subtly return to their gospel origins with call-and-response backing harmonies. The proceedings are far from being pious, however, as the quartet harmonizes the chorus of "Too Fat Polka" during one of the instrumental breaks.

Perhaps wishing to remove some of the sting from the real storyline, the reworking of "House of the Rising Sun" - according to the spoken introduction - is told from the point of view of the receptionist (huh?) at the infamous bordello. Had The Chambers Brothers decided on a more straightforward translation, the song could easily have been one of the album's best. Other tunes worth spinning include a version of Bobby Parker's "Blues Get Off My Shoulder" - in a longer form than on 1968's The Chambers Brothers Shout! - and the comparatively brief but effective update of the jazzy "Undecided." In 2007, Collectors' Choice Music licensed all four of The Chambers Brothers' Vault Records releases, marking the first time they have been available in over three decades. /Lindsay Planer, AllMusic

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The Chambers Brothers - People Get Ready

Year: 1965/1999/2007
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:52
Size: 99,3 MB
Styles: Blues/R&B/Soul
Scans: Full

1. Yes, Yes, Yes (3:23)
2. Tore Up (3:02)
3. Reconsider Baby (4:46)
4. You've Got Me Running (3:04)
5. People Get Ready (4:23)
6. Money (That's What I Want) (2:48)
7. You Can Run (But You Can't Hide) (3:45)
8. Hooka Tooka (2:42)
9. Call Me (3:21)
10. Summertime (4:11)
11. Your Old Lady (3:08)
12. It's All Over Now (4:14)

The first of a handful of early live albums by the group, recorded in concert at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles and the Unicorn in Boston in 1965. The Chambers Brothers were purely an R&B outfit at the time (their psychedelic stylings being a couple of years in the future), and a good one, although they're a little bit surer on the more basic blues than on some of the R&B that they cover - their renditions of Jimmy Reed's material seem more inspired than their performance of the Valentinos' old hit "It's All Over Now," although to their credit their rendition of the latter sounds nothing like the Rolling Stones' then-current cover of the same song.

The group also does a beautiful job of harmonizing on Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready," and shows a command of the poppier side of rock & roll on "Call Me," a group original with a catchy "Hang on Sloopy"-style central riff. This album, like its companion release, Now, is a good low-cost introduction to the Chambers Brothers, who show that, even at this early date in their history, they were a commanding and exciting presence on-stage. /Bruce Eder, AllMusic

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The Chambers Brothers - Now!

Year: 1966/2007
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:14
Size: 95,6 MB
Styles: Blues/rock & roll/soul
Scans: Full

1. Introduction To (1:14)
2. High Heel Sneakers (3:53)
3. Baby Please Don't Go (3:45)
4. What'd I Say (8:12)
5. Long Tall Sally (3:03)
6. Bony Maronie (3:42)
7. It's Groovin' Time (3:33)
8. You Don't Have to Go (2:58)
9. C.C. Rider (4:31)
10. So Fine (6:20)

This nine-song, 41-minute album, originally released on the Vault label, was recorded live at performances at the Unicorn in Boston and the Ash Grove in Los Angeles. The shows, from 1965, pre-dated the Chambers Brothers' signing to Columbia by more than a year, and capture the group just coming up as a major discotheque attraction, still retaining elements of their gospel roots on songs such as "Baby Don't Cry" and even "High Heel Sneakers."

The set includes some basic rock & roll, "Long Tall Sally" and "Bonie Maronie," both highly animated in the playing as well as the singing, and stirring despite some moments of sloppiness, such as wrong notes, etc., but there's also some slow blues ("It's Groovin' Time," "C.C. Rider") present, which gives the group a chance to stretch out. The closing number, "So Fine," is about as perfect a song as the group generated during the early part of their history, showcasing their fine harmony singing, bluesy guitar work, and a rock steady beat in a performance that soars and surges for six solid minutes.

This is one of the better-sounding live rock or soul documents of its period, captured in decent fidelity right down to the twisting guitar part in "Long Tall Sally" and about half of the vocals up fairly close as well. The band's sound is divided between the two channels, drums one on side, bass on the other, and the voices split between the two. /Bruce Eder, AllMusic

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