There it is James Brown

James Brown's two-CD 40th Anniversary Collection gathered 40 of the soul-funk giant's biggest hits, and in keeping with its title, The 50th Anniversary Collection is just that little bit bigger and better, with (could you guess?) 50 of his most famous tracks. From 1956's "Please, Please, Please" to 1988's "Static, Pts. 1 & 2," it has almost all of his biggies, though the absence of the 1986 Top Five hit "Living in America" is puzzling indeed. But that's a minor quibble given the dozens of classics onboard, which taken as a whole not only represent the best Brown compilation on the market, but also make a plain case for the singer as one of the major talents of 20th century American music. It's not wholly redundant on the off-chance that you're willing to replace 40th Anniversary Collection, mopping up a few hits of note ("Bewildered," "Bring It Up," "Let Yourself Go," "I Can't Stand Myself [When You Touch Me], Pt. 1," "It's a New Day, Pt. 1," "The Popcorn") that didn't make the cut the previous time around. If you're keeping score, it does lose a couple minor goodies from 40th Anniversary Collection ("Money Won't Change You," "King Heroin"). Also, the '70s funk years might be given too much emphasis and his R&B-soul beginnings shortchanged, though there are plenty of other reissues of his '50s/'60s material out there if you want to investigate further.

There are so many James Brown compilations out there that it can be tough to pick which one is the most suitable for a particular listener's budget or pleasure. This set from Polydor in the U.K. is – for a single disc – quite solid if bare in places. Containing 20 tracks and presented for a very attractive price point, it contains all major hits – albeit edited single versions of some of them like "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine." Of course, there is plenty missing, but it would be easy to come up with what is – tracks like "Mother Popcorn," "Hot Pants," and "Ain't It Funky Now" are all very conspicuously absent. But it's difficult to argue with what is here, even of the later 1970s material. There is no single compilation of James Brown's music that can really be considered complete, but this one, containing all original recording sources and stellar material, stands with the best of them despite lacking some cuts.

James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer, and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honorific nicknames "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres…