No. 414: 20 All Time Greatest Hits

Band: James Brown
Album: 20 All Time Greatest Hits
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: I mean, it's James Brown and it's his hits.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: The placement makes almost no sense to me. This disc is, basically, a sampler from "Star Time," the Brown boxed set. You know my thoughts on greatest hits packages, I'm even more down on this sort of thing.
Best song: "Hot Pants." Classic.
Worst song: Whatever. It's a greatest hits collection.
Is it awesome?: Come on.

Considering the fact that the boxed set this album is culled from is already on the list, I'm not going to elaborate.

No. 330: In the Jungle Groove

Band: James Brown
Album: In the Jungle Groove
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Compiling several of JB's best songs fro the 1970s, "In the Jungle Groove" has hits like "Funky Drummer," "Hot Pants" and "Soul Power."
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: It's a compilation and compilations are silly for this list, even for a guy who was mostly a singles artist.
Best song: "Hot Pants." Hot pant hot pants hot pants hot pants.
Worst song: It's a great compilation. The whole thing is awesome.
Is it awesome?: Sure, but it's essentially "The best of JB in the 70s."

A compilation album -- even for JB -- is still a compilation. We've already got the JB boxed set on this list, so this one should probably not be on this list.

No. 79: Star Time

Band: James Brown
Album: Star Time
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: James Brown basically invented funk and this boxed set chronicles his invention of the form, basically. From the soul of "Please Please Please" to the duet with Afrikaa Bambaatta ("Unity"), Brown's career is hard to match.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Having boxed sets on here is ridiculous, especially career retrospective ones.
Best song: Well, all of disc two is great.
Worst song: Some of the later stuff is not so great. "Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses)" is particularly stupid and the idea that "It's Too Funky In Here" could actually occur (it's never too funky for James Brown) is ludicrous.
Is it awesome?: Absolutely. It's a favorite of mine.

While "Live At The Apollo" had James Brown as soul singer, pre-funk, "Star Time" spans Brown's career from his work in the '50s until the mid-'80s, when he coupled with Afrika Bambaatta. It's a fuller look at Soul Brother #1, and it's jaw-dropping.

You know my feeling on putting boxed sets on this list; I think it's stupid. "Star Time" especially seems stupidly on this list, as Brown's greatest hits collection comes in at 414. Two collections is overkill.

Brown is a hugely important figure in music, as his 1965 single "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" pretty much invented funk music. Critic Dave Marsh described it as such:

"The only way ['Papa'] could be more bone-rattling would be if James Brown himself leaped from your speakers, grabbed you tight by the shoulders and danced you around the room, all the while screaming straight into your face."

It's hard to think of a world, pre-James Brown, but it apparently existed. That's a scary thought.

James Brown's work isn't particularly varied. The funk of "Papa" isn't hugely different from the funk of "The Big Payback," a song released 15 years later. But, that doesn't take away from the brilliance of it. Four discs? Probably too much. But, James Brown? Absolutely!

No. 24: Live At The Apollo (1963)

Band: James Brown
Album: Live At The Apollo
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: To include a James Brown studio album in this list would be blasphemy. Brown's live show was what defined him. At the beginning of his career -- as he was developing his crazed style -- Brown recorded the more straight-up soul songs.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: The James Brown most of us know isn't necessarily on here. "I Got You (I Feel Good)" isn't on here. "Hot Pants" isn't on here. None of this 70s funk is on here. No "Sex Machine."
Best song: The nine-song medley is pretty amazing.
Worst song: "I'll Go Crazy" isn't knockout great.
Is it awesome?: James Brown live? Absolutely.

What can you say about James Brown that hasn't been said yet? I saw James Brown at Taste of Chicago in 1996 whe Brown was 64 years old. He was 64 years old. I don't know that I can stress that enough. He was 64!

We were way back on the lawn, but you could see Brown busting his ass to perform. He faux-fainted and fell down, only to be revived by the crowd. He did dance numbers similar to the old Eddie Murphy "Hot Tub" sketch. He kneeled while a man put a robe-ish thing on him. You know the drill.

He ran around the stage. He sang his ass off and was on-key, which is more than we can say for the Rolling Stones at the same age. He kicked ass and took names.

Again, he was 64.

"Live At The Apollo" was recorded when Brown was a young man simply translating the gospel music he grew up on into a more popular "soul" sound. His "Please Please Please" was a hit single and he was massively popular. The Apollo Theatre was the place for him to hone his skills in week long engagements. The last night of one such week saw Brown record this album on his own dime (the record label didn't want to pay for the recording). The record blisters with energy, as you would expect from "Mr. Dynamite." He rolls through "Night Train" as the album closer and rocks a nine (!) song medley.