Mean on the Scene Album Reviews

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AMG Review

In the late '70s and early '80s, no dance club was more loved and more hated than New York's Studio 54. The club's critics denounced it as pretentious, phony, overrated, elitist, exclusionary, and anti-working class -- and, to be sure, it was all of those things. How elitist was Studio 54? So elitist that on occasion, major disco and R&B artists that it had booked had a hard time getting inside. But one artist who got inside without a problem was James Brown, who filled Studio 54 to capacity when he performed there in 1980. Released in 1982, Mean on the Scene documents the Godfather's appearance at the infamous club, where he performs a handful of songs from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and is backed by a tight band. This LP isn't in a class with Live at the Apollo or the live double-LP Sex Machine; nonetheless, Brown is in fine form on two gems from the late '70s ("Get up Offa That Thing" and "It's Too Funky in here") as well as "Please, Please, Please," "Cold Sweat," and "Get on the Good Foot." Although not essential, Mean on the Scene is worth obtaining if you're a diehard Brown collector. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide