James Brown 40

The Jazz Club series is an attractive addition to the Verve catalogue. With it's modern design and popular choice of repertoire, the Jazz Club is not only opened for Jazz fans, but for everyone that loves good music.
"Soul Brother Number One," "the Godfather of Soul," "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Mr. Dynamite" - those are mighty titles, but no one can question that James Brown earned them more than any other performer. Other singers were more popular, others were equally skilled, but few other African-American musicians were so influential over the course of popular music. And no other musician, pop or otherwise, put on a more exciting, exhilarating stage show: Brown's performances were marvels of athletic stamina and split-second timing…

James Brown is featured here with the then newly formed J.B.'s – the maestro's second great band, including Bootsy Collins, Phelps Collins, Jabo Starks, Bobby Byrd, and Fred Wesley. Live at the Apollo had caught James Brown the '50s gospel/R&B singer; Love Power Peace captures James Brown the funkster. In the early '70s Brown turned up the funk, recording such litanies for Black America as "Ain't It Funky Now," "Sex Machine," "Give It Up or Turn It Loose," "Super Bad," "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved," and "Soul Power." They're all here, along with revved-up, white-hot versions of the early- and middle-period classics. Brown had planned to release this as a triple album in 1971. When several bandmembers left shortly after it was recorded, Brown switched from King to Polydor Records, leading him to scrap it and record a new studio album instead. In 1992, Polygram decided to make the recording available for the first time.

Perhaps you have seen him depicted in the recent feature film; possibly watched the HBO documentary. You might even have been amazed by accounts of legal shenanigans surrounding his estate. Its like James Brown never left, still stirring up controversy and whipping heads around in the twenty-first century. The Roots of Revolution is your ticket to understanding how his story began. This all-new set from Southern Routes presents a complete collection of the Godfather of Soul's formative recording for Federal Records with The Famous Flames in late 1950 s. This import 2LP or 2CD package features all of JB's early, explosive hits including Please, Please, Please, Try Me and Think; thirty-six dynamic Rhythm and Blues gems. Essential!!