Advantages: Timeless REAL soul music
Disadvantages: Only 10 tracks

...INTRO ---------- After 1980's rappers and The Smiths, James Brown is my other musical icon of choice. With a career in entertainment spanning his debut single release, "Please Please Please" in 1956 to his appearance with Will Young at this year's Olympic Torch Concert, only Cliff Richard could boast a career equal in longevity. Cliff, though, can't boast James Brown's critical kudos and influence. Of the 116 albums he's released, this effort - originally from 1981 - is one of 17 "best ofs" on the market! WHO IS HE? ------------------- Even if you don't know any of his music directly, the chances are that you'll have been affected indirectly by his vast 45 year output. For a start, he invented what used to be called "soul", that genre that put feeling and vocal passion before lyrics and image. He was 8 years ahead of Motown... Read review

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Advantages: Thought provoking
Disadvantages: Bit hard going

...Nobody True written by James Herbert. James True - a pretty average person,five-eleven tall,slimmish,good mid-brown hair,blue eyes, not bad looking. Average - quite ordinary really. Except he has O.B.E.'s (out of body experiences) The first time was due to a rather hot boiled potato that he over eagerly tried to eat whole. In order to save his mother any embarassment by making a scene, whilst burning his mouth, he tried to swallow the offending potato whole, schorching his mouth and throat. Unfortunately the potatoe had other ideas and lodged in his throat. James' body took over and fell down in a faint His soul had other plans and took the opportunity to exit his physical body for a mid air jaunt. James had a few of these O.B.E.'s during his childhood and progressed to trying to initiate and control them. Finally leaving home... Read review

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Advantages: Contains his most well-known classics
Disadvantages: None!

...Like Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder, James Brown possessed the uncanny ability of having a distinguished, instantly recognisable and unique vocal style of his own. In his case, his primal vocal delivery was capable of such immense and impressive volume and power that was purely adrenalin-driven. Visually, James Brown was a larger-than-life figure from his wildly over-the-top slicked hairdo to his acrobatic, athletic-like dancing in his seemingly improvised stage performances. James Brown just effortlessly conveyed such raw and passionate energy both on stage and on record. He quickly became one of the giants and most important names in black music history. He has apparently disputed his birth on a number of occasions for some unknown reason though it is most commonly believed to be somewhere... Read review

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Advantages: James Brown
Disadvantages: Underneath all the funk and grunts where are the tunes?

...INTRO ---------- With a career in entertainment spanning his debut single release, "Please Please Please" in 1956 to his appearance with Will Young at this year's Olympic Torch Concert, only Cliff Richard could boast a career equal in longevity. Cliff, though, can't boast James Brown's critical kudos and influence. Of the 116 albums he's released, this effort - originally from 2003 - is one of 17 "best ofs" on the market! WHO IS HE? ------------------- Even if you don't know any of his music directly, the chances are that you'll have been affected indirectly by his vast 45 year output. For a start, he invented what used to be called "soul", that genre that put feeling and vocal passion before lyrics and image. He was 8 years ahead of Motown and Stax and was experimenting with soulful innovations whilst Chess records were still... Read review

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Advantages: A well-paced, reasonably well-written affair
Disadvantages: Implausible, occasionally repetitive, poor ending

...later. As soon as they triumph, that's pretty much it - we get something of a James Bond ending, with Fletcher and Becker re-united in a log cabin in the mountains, skipping over all issues of the aftermath and consequences of the story up to its climax. This is probably an over-negative review; Digital Fortress is a decent thriller, commands suspense fairly well and tells a good, clever story. However, it suffers from the hype whipped up by its later brothers, and Brown's customary exaggerrations and cliff-hangers felt tired and ridiculous. Perhaps if I'd have read this first, I'd have enjoyed it more, but, for me, there are better books, both by this author and in the genre in general.... Read review

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Advantages: James Brown before he went global
Disadvantages: Very dated, none of his big hits

...and DJs began sampling his funky grunts, soulful beats and brassy stabs. This acceptable theft ensured hip hop moved out of the ghetto and into the charts at the end of the 80's. This new-found commercial sound was, of course, supplied by much of James Brown's 60s and 70s output. OK, so this is a generalisation and I'm suggesting that James Brown virtually invented all black music of the last forty years (except reggae). He didn't, of course, but it's not that much of an exaggeration to cite Brown as an influence on every important black artist of the last 40 years: Prince, OutKast, Public Enemy, Sly Stone. WHAT'S THIS ALBUM ALL ABOUT ----------------------------------------------- It's a concert, recording in Harlem at the world famous Apollo on 24.10.1962. As a historical document it's fascinating. It's rated by "critics" as... Read review

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Advantages: too many to mention
Disadvantages: none

...Funky President is a collection of the godfather of soul's slightly lesser known compositions. Don't be led into thinking however that there is any compromise on quality. This is an official best of released by Polydor records, none of the cheap rubbish you find in the bargain bin at your local record shop, which sounds like it's been recorded live on a dictaphone. James Brown is not a singer so much as a conductor, backed by an extraordinarily talened group of musicians, the JBs, Brown leads from the front. He not so much sings as directs, for example on funky drummer when he prophesises "Take me into the change" leading up to the break. The breaks themselves are truly awesome, interrupting some funky groove or other like a lightning bolt and introducing a new, usually more laid back riff. The musicianship is quite... Read review

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Advantages: Was at the forefront of music in the 60's and 70's, and he still alive
Disadvantages: He does push his musicians to the limit, and he beats some woman up

...James Brown is often commented to be the godfather of soul. This is true. But looking at the time line