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jeremymorrison's review against another edition
3.0
McBribe digs into the contradictory history of James Brown to find nuggets of insights into the Godfather of Soul who helped shape American music.
mikolee's review against another edition
3.0
Wonderful literary tribute to The Godfather of soul James Brown. Funny, complicated, enlightening. One great artist bringing a rich history of another great artist alive with color, depth and feeling. I don't think James McBride can write a bad sentence.
laura_sorensen's review against another edition
5.0
Such a beautifully written book, with such a warm confidential feeling at the core of it. One feels as if one is gliding down a river with a friend, and that friend is telling a story, and the sun is shining and you have a drink in your hand and you won't get to the end of the river until the story is done. That kind of feeling. The story is not an easy or pleasant one, but it's essential to be told.
alanfederman's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! I had read James McBride's "The Good Lord Bird" and swore to read everything he writes from here on in (and the old stuff too!). This was ostensibly the "biography" of James Brown, but unlike a conventional biography (born here, did that, married this one, etc.)it was almost an analysis of a really brilliant and complex person. It stayed away from the salacious aspects of his life (yes he was a womanizer and had some drug issues - let's move on), and focused on his musical brilliance and just the very mercurial nature of his personality. He was a hard person to get to know and was extremely guarded, but his impact on popular music, race relations, and civil rights cannot be understated. Thanks to Mr. McBride for writing a thoughtful and insightful book about a fascinating person.
kat2112's review against another edition
5.0
First things first: James McBride wrote an excellent, excellent memoir called The Color of Water. Go read it.
Second, don't expect a traditional biography when you open Kill 'Em and Leave. Authors of biographies concern themselves with facts, typically in chronological order. That's not to say McBride isn't interested in the truth about James Brown; this book features input from many people involved in Brown's inner circle and some on the fringes: musicians, money men, friends and family. How McBride presents what truth he finds happens in a narrative that's personal and evokes an almost spiritual journey.
Explaining James Brown equates, one could argue, to trying to explain what Jesus actually looked like. Different versions of the Brown story/legend exist because, as we see in McBride's book, it's how Brown wanted it. For a man who enjoyed the spotlight, he craved the mystery and privacy just as much. The title of this book comes from advice Brown was fond of giving and sticking to: knock their socks off, and go. Kill 'em and leave. As McBride writes, "James Brown's status was there wasn't no A-list. He was the list." Watch any clip of him on YouTube and try to argue.
McBride's narrative reminded me in part of Citizen Kane and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, in the respect that you have a person searching for story, looking for an answer (What was Rosebud? Who was the real James Brown?) and in the process you come across a variety of people whose interpretations not only magnify the legacy of the subject, but make them people you want to know better. McBride talks to the last surviving member of The Flames, Brown's early group, his first wife Velma, the man who helped save Brown from the IRS, surrogate son Al Sharpton, and Miss Emma, a devoted friend for decades. Their stories are raw and engaging and bring pieces of Brown's life together like a puzzle we're amazed to see at the end. It's more than a story about one the great soul singers, it's a history of black music and a social commentary about how we treat people, and how we revere some after death...and how greed makes us blind to the need of others. The story of James Brown after his death - the multiple funerals, the fight over his estate, the midnight visit from Michael Jackson - would make one hell of a movie on it own.
This is a book that will stay with you. It's awesome. Just read it.
ARC received from NetGalley.
Second, don't expect a traditional biography when you open Kill 'Em and Leave. Authors of biographies concern themselves with facts, typically in chronological order. That's not to say McBride isn't interested in the truth about James Brown; this book features input from many people involved in Brown's inner circle and some on the fringes: musicians, money men, friends and family. How McBride presents what truth he finds happens in a narrative that's personal and evokes an almost spiritual journey.
Explaining James Brown equates, one could argue, to trying to explain what Jesus actually looked like. Different versions of the Brown story/legend exist because, as we see in McBride's book, it's how Brown wanted it. For a man who enjoyed the spotlight, he craved the mystery and privacy just as much. The title of this book comes from advice Brown was fond of giving and sticking to: knock their socks off, and go. Kill 'em and leave. As McBride writes, "James Brown's status was there wasn't no A-list. He was the list." Watch any clip of him on YouTube and try to argue.
McBride's narrative reminded me in part of Citizen Kane and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, in the respect that you have a person searching for story, looking for an answer (What was Rosebud? Who was the real James Brown?) and in the process you come across a variety of people whose interpretations not only magnify the legacy of the subject, but make them people you want to know better. McBride talks to the last surviving member of The Flames, Brown's early group, his first wife Velma, the man who helped save Brown from the IRS, surrogate son Al Sharpton, and Miss Emma, a devoted friend for decades. Their stories are raw and engaging and bring pieces of Brown's life together like a puzzle we're amazed to see at the end. It's more than a story about one the great soul singers, it's a history of black music and a social commentary about how we treat people, and how we revere some after death...and how greed makes us blind to the need of others. The story of James Brown after his death - the multiple funerals, the fight over his estate, the midnight visit from Michael Jackson - would make one hell of a movie on it own.
This is a book that will stay with you. It's awesome. Just read it.
ARC received from NetGalley.
aliciaprettybrowneyereader's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book! Mr. McBride does a wonderful job researching James Brown. He speaks to people who actually knew Mr. Brown and just weren't paid to be around him. Mr. McBride paints the portrait of a man who is deeply flawed and deeply misunderstood. Through McBride's search for James Brown we go through American history, music history and the history of James Brown.
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