Best James Brown
Star Time is a 1991 box set chronicling the music of American singer James Brown across 71 tracks. The compilation presents his career chronologically from 1956 to 1984, covering his evolution from rhythm and blues to funk. The collection includes hit singles, alternate takes, and previously unrelea...
James Brown’s “20 All-Time Greatest Hits” is a collection of recordings from the iconic American soul singer. The album showcases his signature rhythmic style and influential contributions to funk music. It includes many of Brown's most popular singles which solidified his position as a foundational...
The Payback is a 1973 double album by James Brown released on Polydor Records. It’s notable for its intensely rhythmic, minimalist funk arrangements and tells a story of betrayal and retribution through musical narrative. This work showcases Brown's signature stripped-down sound and is particularly...
The Sex Machine is a 1970 live recording by James Brown featuring performances from Augusta, Georgia. This double album showcases Brown’s signature funk style and demonstrates his powerful stage presence. It's notable for containing the iconic title track, a staple of his catalog. The music appeals...
“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” by James Brown is a landmark recording from 1965. This single and accompanying EP are recognized as foundational to the development of funk music. Its innovative rhythmic structure – driven by the prominent use of horns and syncopated percussion – established key element...
Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud is a 1968 recording by James Brown and the title of an album released the following year. Built around a forceful funk rhythm and a call-and-response chorus performed with children, the song expressed Black pride during the civil rights and Black Power era. It re...
Get on the Good Foot is a 1972 double album by James Brown, released by Polydor Records. Named for Brown's hit single and associated dance, it combines studio recordings with the tightly syncopated rhythms, horn figures, repeated vocal cues, and emphasis on the first beat that characterize his matur...
It's a Man's Man's Man's World is a 1966 studio album by American singer James Brown, named after his dramatic soul ballad of the same year. The title song, written by Brown and Betty Jean Newsome, reached number one on Billboard's R&B singles chart and uses an orchestral arrangement that contrasts...
Hell is a 1974 double album by American singer and bandleader James Brown, released on Polydor Records. The record combines hard funk, soul ballads, gospel-derived singing, instrumental passages, and socially focused material across four vinyl sides. It includes "The Payback," an extended groove bui...
There It Is is a 1972 studio album by American singer and bandleader James Brown, released by Polydor Records. It documents his early-1970s funk style through tightly interlocking drums, bass, clipped guitar, horn figures, repeated vocal phrases, and extended rhythmic vamps. The album includes the t...
Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul alto saxophonist celebrated for his work with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s. Often featured alongside trombonist Fred Wesley and saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis, Parker's solos were a signature element of Brown's hits, prompting Brown to frequently shout his...
James Brown's 1975 Polydor album revisiting the themes of his classic 1970 live record as his sound began incorporating disco-era production.
James Brown's 1979 Polydor album on which he fully embraced disco production, representing his overt commercial pivot at the end of the decade.
