I would apreciate lists of good James Brown albums

You might also be interested in the Donny Hathaway live lp, some of it's a little corny but "The Ghetto" will make the hair on your arms stand on end.

Parliament: Chocolate City, Mothership Connection, Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome, The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein

Funkadelic: Funkadelic, Maggot Brain, America Eats Its Young, One Nation Under a Groove.

Be forewarned: The early Funkadelic albums on CD can sound muddy, like they were transferred from somebody's worn out 8-track.

Also, if you happen to want to know about rock, don't listen to the Rolling Stones. Hip-hop fans are advised to steer clear from any Public Enemy. You want to know about techno? Make sure you don't listen to anything ever done by Derrick May!

the rickey vincent book is good-ish on lists but TERRIBLE on analysis (he should have stuck with the lists and put "ps i hate disco yay me" at the bottom of each page)

Don't forget about Kool & the Gang. And I don't mean "Celebration" There are good tracks on: Kool & the Gang, Live at the Sex Machine, Live at Pj's, Good Times, Music is the Message, Wild and Peaceful, Spirit of the Boogie, Kool Jazz, Light of Worlds, etc. But also some not-so-great songs. There are at least two greatest hits albums of the earlier songs, which would cut a lot of the filler. My favorite songs are North, east, south, west, Funky Stuff/More Funky Stuff, N.T., Who's gonna take the weight, Give it up, oh...lots I guess. The gold cover greatest hits Lp is really pretty solid with cuts. You may want to try to get hold of some Ultimate Breaks and Beats LP's. I'm not too sure where you can get them nowadays. Dusty Groove used to sell them, but their site says that Street Beat records is no longer in business. I do see them on the shelf from time to time. Anyhow, there are about 25 volumes I think. All songs which are hip hop sample classics, not all funk/R&B/ soul.

I really like the jazz of the 60's and 70's that got into funk/soul territory: Herbie Hancock, Donald Byrd, Grant Green, Freddie Hubbard, Lou Donaldson, etc.

Sly & the Family Stone: There's A Riot Goin' On & Fresh

Bootsy's Rubber Band: Bootsy? Player of the Year

Ohio Players: Skin Tight, anything on Westbound label

Graham Central Station: Ain't No'bout A Doubt It

Isley Brothers: Fight the Power featuring The Heat Is On

you're wrong. how's that?

James' career before "Cold Sweat" just doesn't interest me much, and that's a full disc and half right there. I mean, "Try Me" and "Please Please Please" I like, but I'd rather put on Ray Charles when I'm in that mood.

which mood are you talking about? because, uh, the last I remember, RC's and JB's stuff from this period really don't sound anything alike at all

Anyway, yeah, if you want to spring for "Star Time" it's obviously the one-stop for Brown.

But there are really only a very few totally essential non-compilation James Brown albums, to wit:

The very best one is 1970's "Sex Machine," half studio stuff (with overdubbed audience noises) and half really live. It's by far the best James Brown album-as-album.

Of course, "Live at the Apollo."

"Hot Cakes" is also very good.

"The Payback."

"It's a New Day, Let a Man Come In" from '70 is also very good, two essential funk tracks, great cover of "Georgia."

"Super Bad" from '71 contains the long version of the title track--another good 'un.

The '70s albums are pretty inconsistent after he went to Polydor.
"Sex Machine Today" is weak. "Black Caesar" isn't good. "Revolution of the Mind" is OK. "Sho Is Funky Down Here" is a bunch of really weird instrumentals, I think one featues a harpsichord.

The late albums "Jam/1980s" and "Original Disco Man" are pretty good. "Hot on the One" is a good live album recorded '79.

'60s--I think "Raw Soul" is good. "James Brown and His Famous Flames Tour the USA" from '62 is another good one, some great instrumentals and on one song JB spells "Augusta" (where he's from, in Georgia) "A-G-U-S-T-A." So it's worth it just for that.

"Thinking About Little Willie John" is a weird one, with some nice instrumentals.

"Presents His Show of Tomorrow" is a rare one--two great Bobby Byrd tracks there.

Of the Christmas albums, the '70 "Hey America" is the weirdest. "A Soulful Christmas" is probably the best.

Compilations: "Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang" is excellent, some overlap with "In the Jungle Groove," which is also excellent---both are by far the best one-disc comps for people who want him at his prime. "Motherlode" is also very, very good.

And "JB's Funky People" comps are all ace.

The two-disc JB's comp is also fucking essential.

So, to sum up, if you want to spend little and get a lot, I'd say, in this order:

Sex Machine
Live at the Apollo
Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Bag
In the Jungle Groove

That gives you both versions of "Sex Machine," and "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing," "Super Bad," "Give It Up or Turnit Aloose." And "Funky Drummer."

Or you could spring for the box and be done with it.

Soul Pride: The Instrumentals (1960-1969) - a great reminder of how awesome his bands were in the 60s

Foundations of Funk: A Brand New Bag,1964-1969 - to the point, to the core, shows the path from the early soul to the best of the best hard funk classics, including alternate takes

James Brown's Funky People, Pts.1,2&3 - as mentioned above, awesome collection of nonJames Brown hits which are every bit as great as the James Brown hits. The JBs, Lyn Collins, Fred Wesley, Bobby Byrd, and the rest.

The one thing I come back to Sex Machine for is Clyde, especially on the version of Give It Up Turn It Loose with the ridiculous breakdown.

"It's the only album where the band run him over. It's got Bootsy Collins his brother Catfish Collins, it was the group he picked up, I think, in Cleveland to replace the JBs because Maceo [Parker] and all those guys quit or were fired or whatever happened. The thing starts with the MC and everyone screaming and the band's in this mid tempo groove which is really happening and they cut into this blistering piece "Brother Rapp". James Brown says "Brother's gotta rap, brothers gotta rap, hit me!" and it jumps. You can hear James Brown on top of the band that are just kicking, saying "Hang On!".

"A friend of mine found a video of the concert and they are doing this "Brother Rapp" tune, and it cuts into another piece at a completely unrelated tempo. It sounds like it must have been a splice but they did this live. Friends of mine were trying to figure out how he did this because it just kind comes out of nowhere, like the group get dropped down into this thing 100 per cent solid. On the video, we watched it over and over and over again, and the only cue is he makes this hand signal a few bars before the change. It's one of the most extraordinary moments in music. It's incredible. Yeah, you should buy that record."

I played in a JB tribute band in high school that learned that entire album!

xpst

pdf OTM

This is wrong: "It's the only album where the band run him over. It's got Bootsy Collins his brother Catfish Collins, it was the group he picked up, I think, in Cleveland to replace the JBs because Maceo [Parker] and all those guys quit or were fired or whatever happened.

Naw, it ain't Cleveland, it's Cincinnati. A town I lived in for a while and which has not much going for it, but it did produce the Collins boys and you can still view the King site in the ghetto as you burp up that godforsaken "chili" that caused Syd Nathan's fatal heart attack....but right, they do run him over!

anyway, thanks everyone, think I'll get on to some of the live albs, and yeah, 'soul on top' (could douglas expand on his comments a bit maybe?).

HAHAHA. A different kind of "three way."

Been enjoying the Hot Pants LP lately.