It's 1974 Kinshasa, Zaire. Promoters Hugh Masekela and Stewart Levine are organizing a companion music festival for the Ali-Foreman fight. It is to be the combination of African American music and musicians from mother Africa. James Brown is the headliner. A few days before the event, the fight is delayed due to Foreman's eye cut. The problem is that the music festival can not be delayed. The show must go on. This documentary starts like a freight train with James Brown and Soul Power. The main problem stems from the fact that it doesn't follow one person. It's a scattered way to tell a narrative. There is no structure. It's more like a series of behind-the-scenes snippets. There are amazing scenes of the stars talking, and some great musical performances. It's a nice series of vignettes that allows the audience to travel back in time to a specific place.

"When We Were Kings" was a great film with soul and spirit explaining how this music festival and a world boxing match with Ali wound up in Zaire in 1974. I was hungry for more.This short film just has 20 minutes of music and a lot of boring pointless dialog. Leon Gast had been hired to do the rockumentary of the festival so presumably the whole thing is on film. Most of the performances must still be on filmstock in Gast's apartment. This film is a disgrace and feels like the leftovers from "When We Were Kings"Pros: Anytime James Brown or Muhammad Ali is on screen the world lights up. Miriam Makeba is awesome!Cons: Only one song by Bill Withers. Only one song by BB King. Only one song by Miriam Makeba.

As around 17 million British TV watcher settled down to watch the dross that was The X Factor (I could spend hours explaining why Simon Cowell and Company are ruining British Pop Music!) some of us more enlightened souls escaped to the cover of our local film club to enjoy some truly talented musicians getting on in Zaire (as the country was known in 1974).This wonderful film tells the story of the three day festival given by Afro American/African musicians that accompanied the famous 'Rumble In The Jungle' World Heavyweight Title fight between Ali and Foreman (for the fight itself you must see 'When We Were Kings', outstanding documentary covering the events surrounding the fight). The film has been pieced together from footage taken at the time and gives a insight as to what happened in the run-up to the 3 day festival, as well as presenting the best of the music performed on stage.Thankfully the pre-festival events are kept to a minimum - just enough to give you a clear idea as to the politics involved - and the bulk of the film is occupied by the music - and what great music it is! BB King, The Spinners (the black soul group, not the British folk one!), many African musicians (whoses names I am ashamed to say have escaped me for the time) etc all on the top of their form, then... The Godfather of Soul, Soul Brother Number One, The Hardest Working Man In Showbiz... MR JAMES BROWN! If you are not blown away by what is shown of his performance then you have no soul! Blistering is hardly the word! Watching him perform reminds you of just what a towering talent the world lost a few Christmases ago when he sadly departed this world - God rest you James, and thanks for the music.One other point that makes this film so worthwhile is the incidental scenes on the streets of Kinshasa where local musicians play for the sheer joy of giving the world music. There is one unnamed band on a street corner with amps, mikes the whole shebang just jamming away - amazing! Normally as the end titles role the audience get up and start to leave - but not this time! Only two people left half way during the end titles, the rest stayed until the screen went blank and the curtains came across, applauding all the time! Never have I witnessed that before, a fitting tribute to a film that deserves to be seen again, and again, and again etc! Forget all the dross that programmes like the X Factor inflict on the world, this is music as it should be, with heart and more soul in one note than in every single record that Simon Cowell has, or ever will, produce!

At the time of this writing, media is still mourning, marketing or doing into sordid details of the recently departed Michael Jackson. What most people know or should know is one of Jackson's most favorite performers was James Brown. Brown was clearly the headliner of this historic concert festival that took place in Zaire in 1974.There were other performers that came over on the airplane to perform. Among them were the vocal group the Spinners, the instrumental group the Crusaders, B.B. King with his group and the Cuban Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz. In fact, it's Cruz's group that's shown leading the impromptu jamming and singing though in fact, they're singing in Spanish.We also get plenty of Don King, legal counsel Ian Strafford and Muhammed Ali. The fight is postponed due to a finger injury by George Foreman who's not shown at all. This film is best seen with WHEN WE WERE KINGS to provide better context. Ali's black pride and complaints about the white man are recorded but this doc should have been more about the music. But perhaps it's needed as Brown also makes his opinions known.We get to see King going through his set list but only his hit "The Thrill is Gone" is showcased. Except for Brown, the rest of the performers also get just one song. There were a number of African performers but only Miriam Makeba out of them get one song.Brown gets three songs and I thought the costume he was wearing a bit odd. He was into fusion jazz funk at this time which was not as commercial as his earlier hits. He also gets the last line to end the movie. "God d**n it, you are somebody" he says as he looks into the camera. Soul Brother Number One.