Gravity is a 1986 album by James Brown. It was largely written and produced by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, the authors of the album's previously released hit single "Living in America", which had reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was prominently featured in the film Rocky IV. It was Brown's first album for the Scotti Brothers record label.
The album's title track became a minor hit on both the pop and R&B charts, while the tango-based slow jam "How Do You Stop" cracked the R&B top ten. The album track "Turn Me Loose, I'm Dr Feelgood" was used as the theme song for the Australian TV sketch comedy series The Late Show(1992-93).
Contents[]
[hide] *1 Reception
Reception[edit][]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [2] |
| Robert Christgau | C+[3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
| The Milwaukee Sentinel | (favorable)[1] |
Gravity earned a lukewarm reception from critics. Robert Christgau went so far as to describe it as "[n]ot a James Brown album--a James Brown-influenced Dan Hartman record, with James Brown on vocals", and urged readers to seek out recent reissues of Brown's earlier work instead.[5] Ron Wynn of Allmusic.com described the album as "moderately interesting" but that, ultimately, Brown was trying to "catch up" with contemporary trends.[6]
Track listing[edit][]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gravity" | Dan Hartman, Charlie Midnight | 5:58 | |
| 2. | "Let's Get Personal" | Hartman, Midnight, Alison Moyet | 4:29 | |
| 3. | "How Do You Stop" | Hartman, Midnight | 4:49 | |
| 4. | "Turn Me Loose, I'm Dr. Feelgood" | Hartman, Midnight | 3:09 | |
| 5. | "Living in America" | Hartman, Midnight | 5:58 | |
| 6. | "Goliath" | Hartman, Midnight | 6:14 | |
| 7. | "Repeat the Beat (Faith)" | Hartman, Midnight | 4:20 | |
| 8. | "Return to Me" | Hartman, Midnight | 4:39 |
2012 expanded remaster[edit][]
- 9. Living In America (12" Version)
- 10. Gravity (12" Version)
- 11. How Do You Stop (12" Version)
- 12. Goliath (12" Version)
- 13. Living In America (Single Version)
- 14. Gravity (Single Version)
- 15. How Do You Stop (Single Version)
- 16. Living In America (Instrumental)[7]
Personnel[edit][]
- James Brown: All Main Vocals, Organ solo on track 8
- Steve Winwood: Synthesizers (listed in liner notes as "Lead & Backing Synthesizer")
- Dan Hartman: Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Programming, Vocal Backing, Fairlight Programming (listed as "Eddie Fairlight III"), All instruments except drums & horns on "Repeat the Beat (Faith)"
- Stevie Ray Vaughan: Guitars
- T. M. Stevens: Bass, Vocal Backing
- Ray Marchica, Art Wood, George Recile: Drums, Percussion
- Trazi: Congas
- The Uptown Horns: All Brass Instruments
- Alison Moyet: Ad-Libs & Vocal Backing
- Charlie Midnight, Gail Boggs: Vocal Backing