James Brown - The Singles Volume 1: The Federal Years 1956-1960

THIS COLLECTION IS ALREADY A LEGEND

My basic interest is in 60s rock and british invasion. I do like to hear their influences of course. This awesome collection is a must for any fan of Muddy, Wolf, Otis Rush, Robert Johnson, Little Walter, although the music is more in the doo wop style than blues. The amazing thing about James Brown is that he wrote all these songs. This collection properly captures what a mega-giant he was. If Zep and Clapton fans lionize Muddy and Johnson, Zappa fans need to look to James Brown. April 29, 2007

the true Roots of a Revolution...

Well, if you're reading this review it's already too late to take advantage of this great lil package. Limited to 5000 copies this gem has all but disappeared from the shelves of Amazon. I wish they would do the entire James Brown catalog just like this one, chronologically. February 21, 2007

Nice Remastered package

This 2-CD set collects James Browns' singles for the Federal Label. I am not a fan of 1950s rock, but I do like 60s & 70s r&b, particularly any artist that can really get down or belt out a tune like no one else (Ike & Tina or James Brown). This collection presents both the a & b side of his singles (almost all of them mono) up to 1960. It also includes a booklet detailing the info on each single. The remastering (from the original source tapes) sounds as good as mono from this period can (with only the demo exhibiting sub-par sound quality). This would make a nice addendum to your James Brown collection, though I wouldn't begin with this unless you're a big 50s fan. However, the CD is supposedly limited to 5,000 copies, so if you think you might want it, you should probably snatch it up quickly.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1

1 Please, Please, Please
2 Why Do You Do Me
3 I Don't Know
4 I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On
5 No, No, No. No
6 Hold My Baby's Hand
7 I Won't Plead No More
8 Chonnie-On-Chon
9 Just Won't Do Right
10 Let's Make It
11 Gonna Try
12 Can't Be The Same
13 Messing With The Blues
14 Love Or A Game
15 You're Mine, You're Mine
16 I Walked Alone
17 That Dood It
18 Baby Cries Over The Ocean
19 Begging, Begging
20 That's When I Lost My Heart
21 Try Me - (Demo Version)

Disc 2

1 Try Me
2 Tell Me What I Did Wrong
3 I Want You So Bad
4 There Must Be A Reason
5 I've Got To Change
6 It Hurts To Tell You
7 I've Got To Change - (Stereo Version)
8 It Hurts To Tell You - (Stereo Version)
9 Doodle Bee
10 Bucket Head
11 It Was You
12 Got To Cry
13 Good Good Lovin'
14 Don't Let It Happen To Me
15 I'll Go Crazy
16 I Know It's True
17 Think
18 You've Got The Power - (with Bea Ford)
19 This Old Heart
20 Wonder When You're Coming Home January 21, 2007

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