Gravity - James Brown

Advantages: Pure James Brown
Disadvantages: only 1 disc

...This is a CD containing 20 of James Brown's best hits. It has songs ranging from Get Up Offa That Thing to Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, from It's a Man's Man's Man's World to Living In America. The complete track listing is below. Before i bought this CD i'd only heard of Papa's Got A Brand New Bag (bad for a DJ i know) by James Brown's but ever since i bought it i can't get enough of him. It has to be the Funk mix with the soul that does it for me. The best thing was i picked this copy up from some supermarket for a pittence of what it should have been. Only £3.50 ish i think. Is well worth the £10 a high street shop would charge. I believe it is now possible to get pretty cheap copies of the net. If you love anything James has done you'll love this CD. Highly Recommended. The track list is as follows: Papa's Got... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful