I'm embarrassed to admit that I own ZERO James Brown albums and I need to rectify this. I'm very indecisive and never know which one to buy because there are so many from which to choose, so I end up not buying any.

I know & like most of his well-known songs (Cold Sweat, Say It Loud, The Payback, Sex Machine, Hotpants, Superbad, It's a Man's World, etc...)

Please recommend one or two albums that I should consider buying.

Thanks!

I actually only own the 50 greatest compilation and another compilation called Balads. I think those two are plenty for me. I like JB, but don't understand why he's considered great. He's probably not even in my top 250 artists (it'd be strange to make that big of a list though).

th13182 said:

Great artist, credited with creating funk, great musician and bandleader, best showman ever, 98 charted singles on the pop charts (second to Elvis) and 117 on the black/R&B charts (most ever).

jone70 said:

Hurry up and buy this classic:



[Edited 10/1/06 20:50pm]

Instead of Star Time!, the best way to go is the compilations that represent each era. Each are double-disc, minun Funk Power: 1970.

-Roots of a Revolutuion: 1956-1964


-Foundations of Funk: 1964-1969


-Funk Power: 1970


-The Payback: 1971-1975


-Dead on the Heavy Funk: 1976-1983


-Soul Pride-The Instrumentals: 1960-1969

[Edited 10/1/06 21:13pm]

th13182 said:

th13182 said:

Simply amazing....you can consider Prince great but the man he imitates every scream , dance step, clothes, hair doo, music style etc.is not correct?? Sorry dude, but I don't think Prince will be able to do at 73 what James is doing now. Prince can barely do it in his late 40's.

James created his own style that Micheal Jackson, Prince and too many other other greats have "borrowed", sampled etc.

jone70 said:

Like silverchild said, buy the "Star Time" four-album box set. For about $50, you will have practically every meaningful song James Brown recording from the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s. It's an excellent compilation.

silverchild said:

Proud owner

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Proud owner of these too!!!

Najee said:

Plus the songs are extended..

funkpill said:

Here too.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Great choices.

I will not post on a thread where someone posted the words 'James Brown' and 'don't know why he's considered great' in a direct context.

Is this great too:

That one is the SHIZNIT!

silverchild said:

GET IT!!!

You've been given some good suggestions.

This is an artist who's at his best live...



...therefore, i'd add these to the list.


But since you'd still be missing the important visual element...



...consider getting The T.A.M.I. Show on DVD.

Why?...

Legends are made of this! The TAMI Show is a legendary contribution to the early madness that was the British Invasion and the legendary Soul movement led by James Brown and the Motown stars The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. James Brown's upstaging of the Rolling Stones in this film is the stuff of legends (indeed, no man could take him off that stage alive), not to mention Marvin Gaye bringing down the house.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/mop...rrent.html

In 1965, during THE T.A.M.I. SHOW in Santa Monica, James Brown performed before the Rolling Stones. Of their respective performances, music historian Nelson George, observed:"Mick Jagger jiggled across the stage doing his lame funky chicken after James Brown's incredible camel-walking, proto-moon-walking, athletically daring performance."
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/a...own_j.html

Closing the show is a veritable "Battle of the Bands" between two of the most exciting stage acts in rock history, James Brown and his Famous Flames (Brown's dancing still inspires awe nearly 40 years later), and The Rolling Stones (who look young and green, but are already blessed with a near-deadly charisma). Regarded by many aficionados as one of the very best rock and roll movies ever made (despite a video transfer that's not quite up contemporary technical standards)...
http://movies2.nytimes.co...v_id=48291

Such eminence allowed Brown a new manoeuvrability. Dissatisfied with his record label King, he ignored contractual niceties and signed with Smash Records. By the time his former outlet had secured an injunction, 'Out Of Sight' had become another national hit. More importantly, however, the single marked the beginning of a leaner, tighter sound that would ultimately discard accepted western notions of harmony and structure. This innovative mid-60s period is captured on film in his electrifying performance on the TAMI Show.
http://members.tripod.com...Brown.html

In fact, his now famous performance at the TAMI Show was enough to make the act on after him--the Rolling Stones--shake in their boots.
http://www.eonline.com/Ce...tar/Brown/

But the real reason to watch T.A.M.I. is the show-stopping James Brown. Accompanied by the Famous Flames, Brown gives a performance that proves once and for all he was the greatest showman in the history of modern music. And in what may be the biggest faux pas in rock history, the Rolling Stones attempt to follow Brown's performance. For all their dynamic presence, in Brown's make the Stones look like pathetic wannabes. Guitarist Keith Richards has said that the biggest mistake of their career was following James Brown at the concert.
http://www.wweek.com/stor...story=3137

A film of the event, known as The T.A.M.I. Show, became a teen sensation in worldwide movie theaters with Mr. Brown, by all accounts, stealing the film and permanently cementing his nickname as "the hardest working man in show business."
http://augustachronicle.c...odes.shtml

“The T.A.M.I. Show” was filmed at the 1964 Teenage Awards Music International and features vintage footage of the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry and more. The highlight is the obvious nervousness of the young Rolling Stones when they realize they have to go on after James Brown’s showstopping performance.
http://www.portlandtribun...i?id=13801


7.James Brown. His slot in 1964 concert film The TAMI Show "may be the single greatest rock 'n' roll performance ever captured on film." (American Records' Rick Rubin)
http://www.usatoday.com/l...tals_x.htm

This performance has even been imortalized in song:
Turn on my V.C.R.
Same one I've had for years
James Brown on the T.A.M.I. show
Same tape I've had for years
When The World Is Running Down - The Police

...That's why.


tA

Tribal Disorder

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

Where would one find this DVD?

calldapplwondery83 said:

The Video Beat website - http://www.thevideobeat.c...cts_id=637


tA

Tribal Disorder

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

theAudience said:

Is that the same VideoBeat that was on the north side of Chicago??

The compilations are a great place to start. Most of his regular albums were patchy to say the least, and not that many exist on CD. Of those that do, The Payack is probably the most consistent, and Hell has some great stuff on it too. The latter has plenty of hilarous filler too - did the world really need a light latin version of Please Please Please? And why on earth is there an annoying gong between every track.....

Two other compilations that are must haves - In The Jungle Groove (pumping funk complete with Bootsy on bass) and its lesser known sister Motherlode....

andyd said:

agree

funkpill said:

According to the site, this particular Video Beat is located in New Paltz, New York.


tA

Tribal Disorder

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

Really, to fully appreciate James you need "Live at the Apollo Volume 2"...which I think was released sometime around 1967.


The coldest funk on Earth that I am aware of is on either side 2 or 3 (my original 2LP first vinyl disc has sides 1/4 and the other is sides 2/3)...the first cut is "Let Yourself Go" which segues right into "There Was a Time"..."There Was a Time", the version on THIS LP which is about 7 minutes long, is just an altogether different experience than the studio version(s). You must get the live LP, preferably on vinyl, play it really, really loud, and get ready to meet God.


It is still difficult for me to believe it is possible for the human race to be THIS funky.

But - hallelujah - it IS.

calldapplwondery83 said:

Here ya' go

Out Of Sight



http://www.youtube.com/wa...RtXU6NjQ-o



Please,Please,Please




http://www.youtube.com/wa...xfRhJjW0hA



Night Train





http://www.youtube.com/wa...61CGsWBhJo

Star Time's a good start, but you need "In a Jungle Groove" and some other stuff available on iTunes to hear the really good extended jams, like Talkin' Loud and Funky Drummer. Also, I've always been a fan of the "Black Caeser" soundtrack.

funkpill said:

not all. many of them are the shorter single versions.

Tessa said:

The majority are extended..