I was wondering if anyone out there had any good recommendations for James Brown albums. I'm just now getting into him, and I really like his sound. I'm aware that he's got a ton of material, and I don't know where to start.

Also, I'm studying how to play the blues on piano and was wondering if anyone has an recommendations in this regard.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

For the blues,



Chess Blues Piano Greats (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection)



and

8 Hands On 88 Keys -- Chicago Blues Piano Masters


sound like they're worth a look.


I focus more on blues guitar, but here's what I've heard in my meager blues wanderings.

Aretha Franklin's early recordings featured her wonderful, bluesy piano playing (she's an extremely underrated pianist). Harry Connick Jr. also is a phenomenal, New Orleans-blues based player. Joe Sample does some wonderful playing on Eric Clapton's duet album with B.B. King, "Riding with the King." Clapton's albums generally feature strong piano players, as a rule.

It really is a problem where to start with James...



Foundations of Funk: A Brand New Bag, 1964 - 1969

There are several worthy James Brown compilations. But this is the one, more than any other, that presents his most fertile and innovative soul and funk material. From 1964's "Out of Sight" through 1969's "Mother Popcorn," this was Brown at the apex of his creativity, turning soul into funk in the mid-'60s, then pushing the rhythm even more to the forefront. Most of his hit singles from this five-year explosion of white heat are on this 27-track, two-CD set, including "Out of Sight," "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "I Got You (I Feel Good)," "Say It Loud—I'm Black and I'm Proud," and "Cold Sweat." There are some minor omissions that could be questioned (the absence of the studio version of "Bring It Up," for instance), and big James Brown fans will already have the lion's share of tracks, on the Star Time box and other releases. It does, however, contain minor but significant bonuses: an alternate take of "Cold Sweat," a previously unreleased live medley of "Out of Sight" and "Bring It Up," and a previously unreleased live version of "Licking Stick—Licking Stick." There are also longer versions of "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing" (ten minutes!), "I Got the Feelin'," "The Popcorn," and "Brother Rapp" that were edited when they were prepared for official release.




In the Jungle Groove

In the Jungle Groove was one of the first (and still one of the best) collections of James Brown's transitional and hard-hitting soul/funk workouts from 1969-1971. While the first few numbers here feature Brown sidemen who were in on his mid-'60s hits, the majority feature the original J.B.'s outfit that helped the singer forge several extended and funk-defining sides during 1970. Faced with a walkout by his old band, Brown partially formed the J.B.'s out of the New Dapps from Cincinnati, taking aboard brothers Phelps "Catfish" Collins on guitar and William "Bootsy" Collins on bass; many of those ex-band members, namely drummer Clyde Stubblefield, guitarist Clair St. Pinckney, and trombonist Fred Wesley, would eventually return to flesh out the J.B.'s lineup. The one constant was vocalist and organist Bobby Byrd, who had been with Brown since the singer's start in 1956. The incredible grooves Bootsy Collins and Stubblefield laid down here would become manna for hip-hop DJs over 15 years later, with the album's "Funky Drummer (Bonus Beat Reprise)" becoming one of the supreme breakbeats of all time. Filling out the collection are the very soulful pre-J.B.'s tracks "It's a Brand New Day" (tenor saxophonist Maceo Parker's only appearance on the disc) and the original "Funky Drummer," as well as the post-Bootsy cut "Hot Pants (She's Got to Use What She's Got to Get What She Wants)." All the numbers here are as in the pocket as you will ever hear in soul and funk. And while many of these tracks are found on various packages like Polydor's Funk Power and Foundations of Funk, In the Jungle Groove has the upper hand with its unequaled coverage of Brown's transformation from soul brother number one to funk originator.





Live at the Apollo

In 1963, James Brown had earned a handful of hits on the R&B charts and had won a reputation as one of the most dynamic performers in the nation, but he hadn't yet made a record that reflected the full range of his musical personality or his magnetic stage presence. Live At The Apollo killed these two birds with one smoking hot platter; while this performance predates the brittle but powerful funk grooves which would later make Brown the most sampled man in show business and focuses on his earlier and (relatively) more conventional hits, the building blocks of his pioneering sound are all here in high-octane live versions of "I'll Go Crazy", "Think" and especially the frantic closing performance of "Night Train", while the ten-minute-plus rendition of "Lost Someone" captures the sound of Brown baring his soul with an almost unbearable intensity, which drives the audience into a manic chorus of shouts and screams. Brown's band (which at this time included Bobby Byrd and St. Clair Pinckney) is in stellar form, tight as a fist (especially the horn section) and supporting their leader with both strength and subtlety, but Brown is truly the star of this show, and by the end of these thirty-two minutes, no one will doubt that James really was the hardest working man in show business (and this without even seeing him dance!), and his communication with his audience is nothing short of astounding. While James Brown would later make more amazing music in the studio, Live At The Apollo left no doubt in anyone's mind that he was a live performer without peer, and that his talent could communicate just as strongly on tape as in person; a watershed album, both for James Brown and for the burgeoning soul music movement.





Live at the Apollo (1968)

As a whole, this double album is pretty erratic — there are a bunch of torchy R&B ballads that were somewhat anachronistic in light of the explosive funk innovations Brown was unleashing in the studio during this time, and some of those funk hits are reprised here in super-brief versions that seem to cut off before they have a chance to get started. On the other hand, some of it is as essential as anything else Brown ever recorded. In particular, the 20-minute medley of "Let Yourself Go/There Was a Time/I Feel All Right/Cold Sweat" is a magnificent, seamless ball of energy, a landmark performance in the evolution of soul and funk. Other highlights are "Bring It Up" and an 11-minute "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World."

if u want great blues on piano check out cats like Ray Charles, Gregg Allman, Steve Winwood, Jimmy McGriff, Art Neville, Billy Preston, Booker T. Jones, Issac Hayes....

calldapplwondery83 said:

Also...

Wow!!! Thank you to threadbare,calldapplewondery83, diamondpearl, and Funkenstein.

There probably isn't anywhere else on the net where I can get such a thorough list of suggestions!!!

I'm well on my way to hearing some phenomenal music. I am so grateful for your feedback!

A 4 Disc James Brown compilation box set complete with 64 page booklet came out in 2004 called Star Time. Seems to be a rerelease of the box set originally released in 1991. It has everything you need with 71 funky tracks over 4 separate disks.

Check out the samples here:

http://www.amazon.com/Sta...TF8#disc_4

The man is playing Dublin in October so I'm finally going to see him. Tickets on sale this Friday.
[Edited 8/29/06 15:56pm]

You've already got the James Brown suggestions I would have given.

Here's a few more Blues suggestions...






And a personal favorite...



...This is BUDDY GUY!


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

gordonroque said:

No probs, mate.
Keep the funk alive

theAudience said:

Woah, look at those covers! Fantastic! Everything used to be better back then.

On the James Brown side, definitely go for the Star Time box set if you want a retrospective spanning the essential parts of his career. Only down side is that some (although by no means all) of the tracks are the edit versions. If that's too expensive the 'Jungle Groove' CD is just a massive slab of funk largely drawn from his days working with Bootsy and co, and is essential.

The live albums are pretty well covered above.

Most of the studio albums are patchy at best - probably the most consistent is 'The Payback', which just grooves and grooves and grooves. Hell is also fantastic in places (Cold Blooded, the long version of Papa Don't Take No Mess), but who on earth needs a latin version of 'Please Please Please' or the surreal take on 'When The Saints Go Marching In'. Oh, and its also got the most annoying and pointless gong bashing away between each track, which makes me irrationally angry every time I hear it!

Finally, the James Brown Funky People compilatons on cd - there are 3 of them - are also excellent. Basically they contain James Brown instrumentals by the JBs etc, and tracks with his protegees on vocals - Lyn Collins, Vicki Anderson, Marva Whitney etc. Essential listening if you like the funkier (as opposed to the soulful) side of James....

Enjoy!

Muddy Water's "Hard Again" is pretty damn essential.