JB40: 40th Anniversary Collection

James Brown

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 1996)
• Original Release Date: October 8, 1996
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B000002GEG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #134,915 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This double disc serves as an excellent recap of Brown's long classic period, beginning with 1956's "Please, Please, Please" and ending with the great disco-era single "It's Too Funky in Here." A great party album and undeniable space saver but inevitably no match for the four-CD Star Time box. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Original - And Still The Best, June 20, 2002

By	Joseph Kimsey "Fareastnibelung" (Renton, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, and Elvis Presley, the US has had its share of influential musical giants. But, for my money, THE most influential and definitely one of the best is The Godfather of Soul. If you don't hear echoes of James Brown in most of the stuff around for the last thirty years, then you must have been stranded on an Aleutian Island. Nearly the entire mid-to-late 70's & 80's soul scene was a pale imitation of the amazingly rhythmic originality of Mr. Brown's work. Not that all of the spin-offs were that good; some were and are awful. But some of the best music around (like Parliament) was directly influenced by The Godfather.

The first disc is the more "soulful" of the two: in other words, these songs epitomize the Soul genre of music. "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" & "I Got You" are known by everybody except maybe an errant Martian or two. "Licking Stick" and "Mother Popcorn" are already well on the way to full-blown funk. "Say It Loud" is a timely response to the prevailing attitudes of the nation during that period. "Please, Please, Please" shows clearly that the basis for soul, funk, and most jazz is gospel.

Disc two is the "funky" one. I defy anyone to sit still while listening to this disc. "Get Up...", "My Thang", "Talkin' Loud...", "Get Up Offa That Thing", among others are classic funk. "Papa Don't Take No Mess" is compulsively funky.

Some have commented about the redundancy of this compilation; but for the person new to James Brown, this is the place to start. Unlike some of his successors, James Brown is real, varied, and the original.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars better than 'star time'!, December 7, 2004

By	kevin m antonio (rumford, ri United States) - See all my reviews

That's blasphemous to some of you readers, I'm sure, but hey, at one time I owned both sets. I kept 40th because it has "Down and Out in NY City"; 'Star Time' does not. Anyway, I found myself going for the 40th set whenever I needed some JB. I guess I just don't have the time or patience to wade through box sets anymore.
As for the music, well what can I say? The man INVENTED funk and rap. Think about that -- James Brown invented two musical genres. It boggles the mind. EVERY R&B performer who came after him owes their career to "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business", "Soul Brother #1", "Mr. Dynamite", "the Godfather of Soul", ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. James Brown!
This set has the songs in chronological order so you get to follow his progress from journeyman soul balladeer to one of the most important figures in 20th century music.
"Sex Machine" is one of the greatest songs ever conceived by the mind of man....
The one complaint I have is you can't see James performing this stuff...
So, if you have the $ and the time, get 'Star Time'. But if you're like me 'JB40' is where it's at. Hunh! good gawd!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Bad Funk!, September 2, 2004

By	littlewing "littlewing1430" (Mumbai India) - See all my reviews

James Brown changed the course of R&B forever in the 1960s. This collection only serves to remind us of his valuable contribution - to virtually every genre of popular music. This is pure(sometimes demented!)funk.

The only thing missing is seeing him dance. Everybody from Sly to George Clinton, Prince and Jackson crawled out of his pocket.