A regular part of the show of the American comedian Dave Chappelle are the skits about Rick James, who is the model for the arrogant, oversexed and drugged 70s funkster. His tagline 'I'm Rick James, bitch!' became a recurring joke. Now Rick James's life was indeed rife with excesses of sex and drugs, but he was also a talented songwriter and excellent performer. This is also evident from this DVD
… that compiles the TV performances of Rick James. The sets in which James plays look dated, but his funky songs still sound fresh. And with James' gaudy stage clothing and frenzied dance moves (Rick claimed Prince would later steal it from him), there is plenty to do on this DVD. The highlight is a rousing performance of Love Gun in the neat Dinah Shore Show, which rightly proclaims him as 'the funkiest punk around'. (PdK)more
