Star Time (4CD) [BOX SET]

James Brown

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 7, 1991)
• Original Release Date: May 7, 1991
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Polydor / Umgd
• ASIN: B000001G1E
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,339 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #35 in	Music > R&B > Classic R&B
  #96 in	Music > R&B > Funk

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

It would seem impossible to summarize James Brown's contribution to R&B--to American music--in a mere four compact discs, but somehow Star Time does it. This boxed set charts Brown's early rise as a hard-hitting R&B-styled vocalist ("Please Please Please," "Try Me") and shows how his bandleading skills (one can't forget inventive players like saxophonist Maceo Parker, bassist Bootsy Collins, drummer Jabo Starks, and many others) changed the face of soul and invented funk in the '60s and early '70s with impeccably timed ("Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"), highly rhythmic ("I Can't Stand It"), primal ("Licking Stick Licking Stick") hits. The box also does a definitive programming job on Brown's more spotty later years--another plus. This is where beginners should start, but several extended versions and rarities (like "Papa," raised an octave on original release, at normal speed) make it a must for completists too. --Don Harrison

Product Description

4 CD Set. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Will Take You Years to Understand This Much Funk, October 22, 2001

By	doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Five stars are barely adequate to describe how monumental this box set truly is. With seventy tracks spanning thirty years of prime James Brown material, you will be exploring the offerings here for a very long time. I bought this box way back in 1993 and I'm STILL absorbing everything that it has to offer.

With the tracks presented in chronological order, you can track the development over time not just of the JB sound (blues to R&B to funk to classic soul), but you can also follow the history of entire branches of popular music in which the JB influence looms large. Disc one covers the early years when James was storming the R&B and blues circuits with some of the most intense new sounds those scenes had ever encountered. He invents funk near the end of disc one, and even says so himself in the liner notes, where he credits the long-lost "Out of Sight" (heard here in its original form for the first time) as his funk songwriting breakthrough.

After getting the funk off the ground, discs two and three are a non-stop, relentless collection of piledriving funk grooves. These two discs will rock any party without apologies, and I don't care if you dig the funk or not. James brought on board the funkiest, tightest, and most relentless bands available (especially in the 1969-71 period) to create this incredible music that has been a huge influence on all subsequent funk, not to mention hip-hop and large chunks of the rock world. The party slows down a bit with disc four, in which you can see that James was getting past his prime, although there a few late-period surprises like "The Payback" and "Get Up Offa That Thing." By this point it was natural for James to slow down on the creation of new sounds, and focus on his current duties as a non-stop live attraction for his ravenous followers.

Another worthy part of this box set is the extensive liner notes, which include exhaustive chart listings and historical info, and an acceptable James Brown bio. There is also much good info on the more important members of JB's bands, like Bobby Byrd, Clyde Stubblefield, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, and the teenaged Bootsy Collins (who would later single-handedly redefine the bass guitar as an instrument in his work with Parliament/Funkadelic and as a solo artist). Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to getting my mind blown by this set. Like I said, I'm still digging it after all these years.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grammy Time Box Set- How did they get so much funk in a box?, February 10, 1999

By A Customer

I have an extensive collection of cds (if I do say so myself) including a number of box sets. THIS IS THE BEST BOX SET I HAVE EVER HEARD. I put this thing on and I could not leave the room, I was dancing and singing like I hadn't done in 20 years. Everytime I moved to the machine to cut it off -the music made me stop. If you like James Brown and if you can only get one compliation of his work THIS IS THE ONE. There it is, mother popcorn,licking stick, doing it to death, can't stand it, hot pants, soul power and, believe it or not even MORE- so much funk it should be declared a deadly weapon. The godfather strikes again and again and again with his superbad, papa's got a brand new bag, havin a funky good time self 'cause it he made it that way-FUNKY. Don't miss this one and don't let your friends miss it either!!!!!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be in everyone's collection..., December 30, 2006

By	B. Bowman "Double B" (Jersey, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Very rarely has the passing of a public figure made me feel such deep emotions as I felt this Christmas day when we lost James Brown. Although I was fortunate enough to see him live and in concert before, I was looking forward to seeing him again on December 28th at a NJ venue and had been lucky enough to get second row seats, but it was not to be. I can literally separate my music listening life into two distinct periods: BEFORE and AFTER I heard JB. Once I heard him everything changed, and I couldn't look at music the same again after hearing him. What I thought was funky or groundbreaking before seemed tepid and uninspired after I heard him. I distinctly remember hearing "Sex Machine" at a party one night and the proverbial light went off. Since that time I have purchased all the JB I can get my hands on, including this collection. The music and message of JB has become ingrained in who I am over the years and has shaped so much of my appreciation for music. JB fused elements of soul, R&B and jazz to lay the foundations of what would later be known as funk music, and then managed to create what would become (in my opinion) the most memorable and definitive funk music ever recorded. But the man didn't just make good time party music; he always had something to say, whether it be unabashed pronouncements of black pride or urging kids to stay in school or away from drugs. JB's influence was so far reaching it almost seems incomprehensible; VERY few recording artists have managed to sustain careers that spanned several decades and remained relevant. His influence was felt on other continents as evidenced in Fela Kuti's music in Nigeria and the creation of Afrobeat, which Fela himself confessed was directly influenced by the rhythms present on James Brown's recordings. JB even had a hand in the early rap scene when artists like Public Enemy began sampling his music on their tracks in the mid 1980's. (And lets not forget that JB was one of the first to rap back in the early 1970's, check out "King Heroin" on this collection if you need a refresher.) The music contained on these four discs is a well chosen overview of his incredible career. As a general warning though, this probably won't be the end of your James Brown collection. I have found that his music is so infectious that I have kept buying more and more of it over the years. However, any newcomer to his music will find this collection to be an excellent place to start, and really any and every music fan should own this. I've said it before and I'll say it again: you ain't human if this doesn't move you. This past summer I was in the heart of the inner city waiting outside of a fast food restaurant in the take out line with my windows down, and blasting a live version of the JB's tearing through "Pass The Peas". I slowly turned as I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye, as three men who had been asking for change got up and began to dance. They yelled "GODFATHAAA!", and ended up coming to my window to ask what CD the song was from or if it was the radio. I'm sure everyone who has been touched by his music has a story like this, because the music of James Brown was something that brought us all together as people. Thank you for all the memories and God Bless you Godfather.