#121 Sex Machine by James Brown

The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time

2025 Album Rank

121

2021 Album Rank

88

Total Points

535

Year Released

1970

Billboard 200 Chart Peak

29

Weeks at #1

N/A

RIAA Sales Certification

N/A (Fewer than 500,000 copies sold)

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Sex Machine Album Details

Released in September 1970, Sex Machine captures James Brown at the absolute peak of his power as a live performer and bandleader. Though packaged as a live album, much of it was actually recorded in a studio with crowd noise overdubbed, a hybrid approach that nonetheless conveys the unrelenting energy of Brown's legendary stage shows. Featuring his new backing band, The J.B.'s, with Bootsy and Catfish Collins, the album marked a shift into an even deeper, funkier groove that would redefine soul music.

The title track, Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine, became one of Brown's most iconic and influential recordings. With its clipped guitar lines, hypnotic bass, and call-and-response vocals, the song is a blueprint for funk. Elsewhere, Brown revisits earlier hits like Papa's Got a Brand New Bag and I Got You (I Feel Good) in extended, reworked forms that stretch the grooves into trance-like jams. Sex Machine is not just a showcase of Brown's vocals and charisma, it's a masterclass in rhythm and minimalism that helped lay the groundwork for hip-hop and modern R&B.

Interesting Facts about Saturday Night Fever

• The first half of the album, including the title track, was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami with dubbed audience noise to simulate a live setting. The second half was actually recorded live at Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Georgia.
• Bootsy and Catfish Collins made their debut with Brown on this album. Bootsy's bass playing in particular would become central to Brown's evolving funk sound.
• Sex Machine was one of the first albums to showcase the full transformation of Brown's sound from soul to pure funk, emphasizing rhythm over melody and tight, repetitive grooves.
• The title track was recorded in just two takes, with Brown improvising much of the vocal direction live in the studio, including his iconic shout-outs to Bootsy and other band members.
• Give It Up or Turnit a Loose features a relentless groove and showcases the early use of breakdowns that would later become a foundational technique in hip-hop and dance music.
• Despite its raw, improvised feel, the album's arrangements were carefully rehearsed and coordinated, often with Brown using hand signals and vocal cues to direct changes mid-performance.
• The album cover shows Brown in mid-motion, emphasizing the physicality of his music and persona, it became one of the most recognizable images of him from the era.
• Critics initially had mixed reactions to the artificial crowd sounds, but over time the album has been praised for its innovative approach and historical significance.
• Several tracks were stretched out far beyond their original single lengths, giving space for the musicians to solo and build momentum in real time, an essential element of Brown's live philosophy.
• Sex Machine has been sampled by countless hip-hop artists, including Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy, and LL Cool J, further cementing its legacy in modern music.

Sex Machine Tracklist

1. Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine - Reached #15 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
2. Brother Rapp (Part I & Part II) - Reached #32 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
3. Medley: Bewildered / I Got the Feelin' / Give it Up or Turnit a Loose
4. I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself)
5. Licking Stick - Licking Stick
6. Lowdown Popcorn
7. Spinning Wheel
8. If I Ruled the World
9. There Was a Time
10. It's a Man's Man's Man's World
11. Please, Please, Please
12. I Can&'t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)
13. Mother Popcorn - Reached #11 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart