5 Classic Albums Plus

As the product description says, this box set includes these five albums which make up about 60% of this box set:Please Please Please (1959)Try Me (1959)Think (1960)The Amazing James Brown (1960)James Brown Presents His Band (1961).The latter is a six song EP with each EP side lasting about as long as the entirety of the song "Hey Jude". But that's not to diminish its contents. The largely instrumental Disk 3 is really the gold here, for my taste anyway. The one hit from that EP was "Night Train" but the other tracks are also strong, notably "Hold It" and "Suds". Following that is a b-side, "Sticky", then ten tracks by Nat Kendrick and the Swans. These tend to be instrumentals characteristic of the era where the band will dish the instrumental and someone intermittently calls out a catchphrase like "Loo Kee Doo Key!" I think Mashed Potatoes may be on the  Star Time  box set. (Update: The first thirteen songs on the Star Time box set cover the time frame represented on this collection, including Mashed Potatoes Part 1. All thirteen are included in this collection.) The highlight is the last track, a simmering "Slow Down", which is not the old Larry Williams standard. Closing out disk 3 are a couple performances from the Ed Sullivan show, 1966.Disk four may appeal especially to collectors. The entire disk is comprised of smokin' live performances from Soul Train, 1971, 1973, 1974. The final one minute track comes from a 1980 performance on Saturday Night Live. Although this is sliced up into 15 tracks, each year's performance mostly is one continuous medley. These are some furious performances; even though there's no video you can see clearly why JB is called the hardest working man in show business. The weakness in this box is the 1974 sequence. The sound is notably tinny; that's the nicest way I can put it. It's tolerable but frankly it sounds like these tracks, 9-15 on disk 4, came from 96k mp3s or something.Disks 1 and 2 are comprised of the first four albums named above. Since the song "Try Me" is included in the first album, it is not repeated in its sequence where it should appear halfway through the "Try Me" album. This is just due to available space on a CD. A second iteration of "Try Me" would have pushed Disk 1 about 20 seconds over the stated 80 minute limit of a CD.4.5 stars, losing half a star due to the sound quality on the twenty minute sequence from the 1974 Soul Train. 1971 and 1973 sound fine so I can't imagine that it's just a consequence of having been sourced from a television broadcast.

JB has his own edition in one of the amazing series of "Oldies" sets: here we have his earliest albums plus something quite exclusive: his 1970s starring appearances on Soul Train!The albums entitled PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE and TRY ME have many of the 1956 to 1959 single sides and they never get tired. These are the "heart ballads" of JB, when singing and romance was paramount....as opposed to what a lot of critics would say [of the late '60s/'early '70s] JB, just screaming and riffing were the order of the day. New fans get a chance to hear the first (and penultimate) PLEASE and other beautiful things like JUST WON'T DO RIGHT, BEGGING BEGGING, and I WANT YOU SO BAD. Great material...but no surprises.We move onto an album of Instrumentals, mostly new to this fan of 48 years. No off hand filler...mostly commercial engaging jazz and R & B mixes.What sealed the deal for me is Disc 4. The notes are wrong > the performances are from one 1973 and one 1974 show.In 1973, James Brown was still evolving...the arrangements were getting more complex and interesting - although the screams never ceased; the following year, the *music* was featured.Also, please find Ed Sullivan appearances, again presented with the wrong dates. They happened in 1966 and in 1967. Listen to the best live version of IT'S A MAN'S MAN'S MAN'S WORLD.Perhaps the rarest "live" entry on the set is the 1980 I FEEL GOOD from Saturday Night Live. Wish they woulda used that incredible version of RAPP PAYBACK he did that night!

This low-priced, four-CD, 89-track collection includes JB's first five albums and represents a fabulous value for your music-buying dollar. You get not only two discs released in 1959 ("Please Please Please" and "Try Me"), two in 1960 ("Think" and "The Amazing James Brown"), and one in 1961 ("James Brown Presents His Band"), but also an abundance of rare and live recordings stretching over two decades.There are ten singles on disc three that Brown performed with Nat Kendricks & The Swans in 1961 (from "Mashed Potatoes" to "Slow Down") and two cuts from The Ed Sullivan Show in 1966 ("Papa's Got A Brand New Bag/I Got You (I Feel Good)/Prisoner Of Love" and "It's A Man's Man's Man's World"). The next 15 tracks, from the song "Hot Pants" on disc three to "Hell" on disc four all come from appearances on the TV show Soul Train in the early 1970s. The final song is from Saturday Night Live in 1980: "I Got You (I Feel Good)."You may wonder at the low cost of this box set. Since producers of European imports need pay no royalties on music older than 50 years or on public domain material, the Real Gone label is able to offer it at rock-bottom prices. Although there are no liner notes on this reissue, the music will make you feel very good indeed and has my highest recommendation.

sound quality is so so

A good presentation of James Brown's work including the incredible live album from the Appollo in 1962. You have his funk classics of the 70s and some material from the 1980s. An excellent package albeit with no information booklet.John Walsh

This has some cuts that I had never heard and some extended versions of some favorites.If I hadn't just bought 2 other JB compilations,I would probably like this a lot more.This is good on its own.

It isn't just the hardest working man in show business that made the Flames so Famous. These early recordings are fabulous displays of group singing and the James Brown Orchestra was the baddest band in the land since day one. Doo-wop turns to JB's unique brand of funky soul long before the end of disc two. This collection is a worthy cheapskate's substitute for the first two Singles Collections although I miss the Alan Leeds liner notes. How about a part 2?!

I received this 4CD James Brown set in sealed condition. The 4th disc in the set has the correct James Brown information printed on it, but the music is actually a compilation of Jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke. This is obviously a manufacturing defect which must have happened to a whole batch, not just my set. Watch out and check straight away upon receiving your order.

at first glance, it's ok, the Federal singles and...but look again: many instrumental tracks factor in, which this dedicated JB fan (from 1966) has never heard.look again (again): Ed Sullivan appearances plus Soul Train stuff from the '70s. on the latter, enjoy the Fred Wesley led JBs backing up a fired up superstar, going deep on oldies and newies, never once letting the temperature drop - but put the kids to bed (he means business).

james brown , from the early years , upto the 1970s where his more funky stuff kicks in , great cds to own , if your a funk head or you like james brown , the master of funk

This is rare JB and real gutsy raw R&B / Soul from the heart. I urge those who think today's R&B is 'the real thing' to hear a few tracks from this.

Greta collection of music