Gettin' Down to It
Gettin' Down to It is the 24th studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released in May 1969, by King Records. A pet project of Brown's, the album consists of standards sung in the jazz ballad style of Frank Sinatra, whom Brown greatly admired. In addition, two of Brown's own compositions, "Cold Sweat" and an instrumental version of "There Was a Time", are included, reinterpreted in the same style.
Robert Christgau has called it "a ballad album that could scare the shades off Ray Charles".
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sunny" (Marva Whitney, vocals) | Bobby Hebb | 3:17 |
| 2. | "That's Life" | Kelly Gordon, Dean Kay | 4:29 |
| 3. | "Strangers in the Night" | Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, Eddie Snyder | 3:26 |
| 4. | "Willow Weep for Me" | Ann Ronell | 4:39 |
| 5. | "Cold Sweat" | James Brown, Alfred Ellis | 5:02 |
| 6. | "There Was a Time" (Kenny Poole and Lee Garrett, guitar) | James Brown, Bud Hobgood | 2:58 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chicago" | Fred Fisher | 2:51 |
| 2. | "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" | William Best, Deek Watson | 7:40 |
| 3. | "Time After Time" | Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne | 4:48 |
| 4. | "All the Way" | Sammy Cahn | 3:40 |
| 5. | "It Had to Be You" | Isham Jones, Gus Kahn | 2:42 |
| 6. | "Uncle" (Kenny Poole, guitar) | Frank Vincent | 2:35 |
Personnel
- James Brown – vocals and producer
- Dee Felice Trio:
- Frank Vincent – piano
- Lee Tucker – bass
- Dee Felice – drums