There It Is (Reissue)

VINYL FORMAT. Exact reproduction reissue, originally released in 1972. Do you need to listen to "King Heroin" again? What about "Public Enemy"? Because this record's got those songs and, although the front cover color-scheme looks like it walked out of your aunt's closet, the back cover illustration looks like a scene right outta Last Exit to Brooklyn. Fucked. 'This 1972 effort collected five of his best early-'70s tracks and mixed in minimal filler. "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" and "There It Is (Parts 1 and 2)," with its bebop-style horns, were both innovative and hard driving to a fault. The hilarious "I'm a Greedy Man," with its hypnotic bass and help from Bobby Byrd, has Brown firing off such witticisms as "I'm a greedy man / yes I are" and "Taking care of my business / now run tell that." Brown wasn't all fun and games on this one. "King Heroin," an eerie, laid-back jazz offering, has him reciting chilling poetry about the ills of the drug . . . Although by this point Brown was best known for his dance tracks, he still had a way with a ballad. "Who Am I," a song that had been kicking around his oeuvre for eons, gets a strong arrangement and has Brown giving an impassioned performance. Like many of his '70s albums, There It Is was out of circulation for close to twenty years until it was reissued on CD in mid-'90s. It's well worth picking up.' - Jason Elias / All Music Guide