Rick James - Super Freak Live 1982 DVD Review
by Kevin Wierzbicki

This concert film was shot in Essen, Germany on Rick's first tour of Europe; right before his career took a serious nose-dive. It is no secret that James, who died in 2004, was fond of dissipation and the drugs and drink would very shortly take their toll on his music. Ironically, this film opens with James backstage, taking hefty swigs off what appears to be a bottle of Courvoisier while waiting for his Stone City Band to finish their intro. The high points of the first half of the show are his early hit, "Love Gun" and a portion of "Call Me Up" where James blows some blues harp and trades licks with Stone City guitarist Tom McDermott. James takes a break from the funk to croon the soulful ballad "Big Day" then revs things back up to close out the show with his biggest hits, starting with "Mary Jane" and ending with "Super Freak." There is a funny spot in the intro to "Mary Jane" where James yells to the crowd, "Who's here from Essen?" The crowd, not understanding English, doesn't respond, so James shouts "Who's here from Frankfurt?" obviously thinking that he had shouted out the wrong city name. This concert is not particularly stunning, but it is a good record of the times.

Rick James - Super Freak Live 1982 DVD

Label:Eagle Vision
Rating:

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