Luciano Pavarotti and James Brown are remembered as larger-than-life performers with almost mythical presences and unique personalities. But it wasn’t that long ago that the two became active and appeared on stage together. In the video above, the King of the High Seas and the Godfather of Soul come together. “It’s a man’s world.” It happened at the penultimate Pavarotti & Friends concert, one of a series of annual benefit shows from 1992 to 2003 that also featured appearances by Andrea Bocelli, Grace Jones, Sting, Lou Reed, and more. I did.
“It’s a great performance on so many levels.” Tom Teicholtz writes for Forbes.com. “James Brown is in top form, his voice is strong and pure. He commands and dominates the stage. He is comparable to Pavarotti in every sense of the word. The video is filled with graceful moments, such as when Brown gives the stage to Pavarotti for a solo, waving his arms with authority, and when Brown says, “Noah is in the Bible.” “It says that he built the ark,” as if it were really about him. Bible. “
Plus, this isn’t James Brown, it’s just “Eddie Murphy” and a little exaggerated. those saturday night live hot tub sketch Decades ago. “Brown’s performance is not about stage theatrics, dancing, or even Brown’s trademark growls and growls,” Teicholz wrote. “This is about singing and conveying songs,” a mission that is certainly not hampered by the orchestral support they have. “It’s a Man’s World” might seem like an “I can’t sing it today” kind of song, at least if you take the title at face value. But in any case, how many singers today would want to be compared to this particular performance?
Related content:
Sing with Pavarotti, Lou Reed, Sting, James Brown and other friends
Aretha Franklin replaces the ill Luciano Pavarotti and sings Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” at the Grammy Awards (1998)
Rare video of 29-year-old Luciano Pavarotti’s earliest recorded performance (1964)
Two Legends: Weird Al Yankovic “Interview” James Brown (1986)
Best Commercial of All Time? James Brown Sells Miso Soup (1992)
Is opera part of pop culture? Pretty Much Pop #15 with Sean Spiers
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages ​​and cultures. His projects include the Substack newsletter books about cities and a book Stateless City: A Stroll Through Los Angeles in the 21st Century. Follow him on Twitter @Colinbemust or facebook.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
