TopTenREVIEWS presents the music career and reviews of James Brown
James Brown
CAREER SPAN:
Decade
Album Score
# Albums
Ratings and rankings are based on all available critic reviews for each album.
Overall Band Score:
3.1089
James Brown Album Rankings
1
When papa found the brand new bag called The One—the funk beat wherein the first accent hits at the start of the bar—he revolutionised African-American dance music.
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2
Syd Nathan never wanted this record made.
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3
James Brown's catalog was in a shambles for years, but the CD age reversed the situation to such an extent that buyers now have a wide variety of greatest-hits options to choose from.
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4
This live outing from Brown's seminal 1970J.B.'slineup featuresBootsy Collins,Clyde Stubblefield,Fred Wesley,Maceo Parker,Bobby Byrd, and many more.
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5
A double-CD retrospective of 1956-1964 recordings that charts Brown's progress from doo wop andLittle Richard-influenced R&B to the verge of his groundbreaking mid-'60s funk.
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6
The period during which Brown was backed by the originalJ.B.'s(withBootsyandCatfish Collins) was extremely brief, lasting only a year.
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7
While the first half of the 1970s saw James Brown's sales and art start to slowly decline, at their best he andthe J.B.'sremained capable of generating a lot of heat.
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8
If "Cold Sweat" was a revolutionary single in 1967, clearly pointing the way to funk music, theCold SweatLP at least promised to be something new in James Brown's catalog as well.
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9
In the Jungle Groovewas one of the first (and still one of the best) collections of James Brown's transitional and hard-hitting soul/funk workouts from 1969-1971.
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10
Originally released in 1973 as a sprawling two-LP set,The Paybackwas one of James Brown's most ambitious albums of the 1970's, and also one of his best, with Brown and his band (which in 1974 still in
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11
Brown's early-'70s run of classic singles and good-to-great albums is still impressive.Hellwas the double album released a year after the gold sellingThe Payback.
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12
The first in the wildly popular three-disc series,James Brown's Funky Peopleis an outstandingly chunky collection that spotlights some of the many talented musicians associated with James Brown and hi
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13
The second volume of material compiled from James Brown's People Records label isn't quite as strong as the first, as it reaches for more obscurities -- but those obscurities can be interesting, espec
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14
Growing up in the Kern household, Christmas was always a magical time full of beautiful sights, smells, and sounds; in short it was a confluence of Norman Rockwell-esque touchstones and traditions.
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15
Two of my favorite things about James Brown really have nothing to do with James Brown directly.
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16
AfterIsaac Hayeskicked his career into high gear with the popular and influential score forShaft, andCurtis Mayfieldmanaged the same feat withSuperfly, seemingly every major soul star of the early 197
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17
At Heart, James Brown's first album since his parole from a South Carolina correctional facility seeks to evoke the R&B warmth of the earliest stage of his career.
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18
At his superstar peak in the 1960s and early '70s, Brown tried to appeal to several constituencies on his many LPs, and the Christmas market was not neglected.
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19
James Brown's Funky People, Pt. 3collects more funky tracks from Brown's early '70s People label, which includedVicki Anderson,Hank Ballard and the Dapps,Lyn Collins, andthe Dee Felice Trio.
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20
Have you ever heard the phrase, "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck"?Well, imagine applying this logic when first checking outRemixed Dance Hits, a CD cred
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21
Originally released in 1973 as a sprawling two-LP set, The Payback was one of James Brown's most ambitious albums of the 1970's, and also one of his best, with Brown and his band (which in 1974 still
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23
James Brown's second album, featuring the sweet vocal support of the Famous Flames and Bobby Byrd , was originally issued as a collection of Federal singles in 1959 by parent label King and re-releas
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24
Released while Brown was in prison, Gravity finally puts 1986's comeback "Living In America" on a Brown album.
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25
This 11-track collection includes '70s favorites from James Brown, like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "Funky President," "The Span," and "Get Up Off of Me.
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29
A soundtrack from a Cinemax special that features James Brown soul-hit duets with Wilson Pickett (a nifty "Cold Sweat"), Aretha Franklin , Joe Cocker and Robert Palmer .
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32
James Brown's Merry Christmas Album follows the pattern of his other Christmas records, blending holiday spirit with a lot of funk and a bit of social commentary on songs like "Don't Forget the Poor
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36
Known mostly for his trademark soul howls, Brown and his various bands, under various monikers, also performed and recorded 11 all-instrumental albums from 1961 to 1971.
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39
A slick, solid and quick-footed greatest-hits revue, this Apollo homecoming struggles to squeeze snippets of Brown's four-decade career into the 75-minute show.
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42
Not a compilation of James Browns' studio tracks but live recordings from two venues.
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47
Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhot pants!Nobody but James Brown could make a great song about hot pants. Thing is. James Brown could make a great song about mouthwash or high-heeled shoes or sweet potato pie.
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52
Brown's Polydor debut, Hot Pants, was nothing more than an inferior remake of the title track baited with a batch of half-baked vamps.
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55
Brown's 79th record (!) attempts (again!) to exploit Brown's influence on funk-sampled rap, with various members of Leaders Of The New School , Jazzie B, Soul II Soul , C&C Music Factory , etc.
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59
By this point Brown's insane schedule was catching up to him. He seemingly had singles or albums coming out on a weekly basis, and Reality finds him at an artistic impasse.
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