James Brown - Think! (1960) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9281 rel 2003}

Limited to 5000 copies.Paper sleeve. THINK, credited to James Brown and The Famous Flames was originally released as KING 12-683 in 1960. It was Brown's third album, and as with most of his non-live pre-1970's albums, it contains previously released singles. Here it's some of his final Federal and early King sides. All songs are backed by his first great "James Brown Band" lead by J.C. Davis. Tracks 11 & 12 are James solo without The Flames. It was reissued numerous times throughout his career, some with different covers.

James Brown - Live At The Apollo (1962) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9283 rel 2003}

James Brown - Live At The Apollo (1962) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9283 rel 2003}

An astonishing record of James and the Flames tearing the roof off the sucker at the mecca of R&B theatres, New York's Apollo. When King Records owner Syd Nathan refused to fund the recording, thinking it commercial folly, Brown single-mindedly proceeded anyway, paying for it out of his own pocket. He had been out on the road night after night for a while, and he knew that the magic that was part and parcel of a James Brown show was something no record had ever caught. Hit follows hit without a pause – "I'll Go Crazy," "Try Me," "Think," "Please Please Please," "I Don't Mind," "Night Train," and more. The affirmative screams and cries of the audience are something you've never experienced unless you've seen the Brown Revue in a Black theater. If you have, I need not say more; if you haven't, suffice to say that this should be one of the very first records you ever own.

James Brown - The Amazing James Brown (1961) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9282 rel 2003}

James Brown - The Amazing James Brown (1961) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9282 rel 2003}

Long before he was the Godfather of Soul, James Brown was an artist that King Records struggled to fully understand or appreciate. His breakthrough hit Please Please Please was nearly not released, owing to the record company executive believing it to be rubbish and being perhaps as surprised as the public when it went on to become a major smash. King then tried to position him as a blues singer, only to see his body of work become revered on the R&B market. In time James would cross over to the pop field and register a series of hits that confirmed him as one of the biggest stars in popular music, irrespective of genre. This particular album was originally released in 1961 and whilst it failed to chart does contain no fewer than four hit singles.

James Brown - Please, Please, Please (1959) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9279 rel 2003}

James Brown - Please, Please, Please (1959) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9279 rel 2003}

James Brown and His Famous Flames scored an R&B Top Ten hit in 1956 with "Please, Please, Please," but Brown's next nine singles for Federal Records flopped. It was the next, "Try Me," his third single of 1958, that finally scored. That was when King Records (Federal's parent label) assembled this, Brown's debut album, out of some of those singles sessions.

James Brown - Sex Machine (1970) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9293 rel 2003}

James Brown - Sex Machine (1970) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9293 rel 2003}

James Brown cooking it live – recorded (as the cover says) "at home in Augusta, Georgia with his bad self"! The groove here is a nice extension of earlier Apollo modes – one that shows the increasing funkiness of the James Brown Band, captured with a raw power that few other groups could match – in a style that really paves the way for the James Brown/JBs sound of the 70s – with long tracks, and some killer fast versions of some of the best funky cuts from the late King Records years! The set includes a smoking 10 minute version of "Sex Machine" –plus other groovers like "I Got the Feeling", "Mother Popcorn", "Licking Stick", and a great version of "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing".

Track Listing
01 - Get Up I Feel Like Beiing Like a Sex Machine
02 - Brother Rap (Part 1 & 2)
03 - Bewildered
04 - I Got the Feeling
05 - Give It Up or Turnit a Loose
06 - I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing
07 - Licking Stick
08 - Low Down Popcorn
09 - Spinning Wheel
10 - If I Ruled the World
11 - There Was a Time
12 - It's a Man's, Man's World
13 - Please, Please, Please
14 - I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)
15 - Mother Popcorn