James Brown - The Singles: Volume Three

A pivotal year in the Godfather’s career chronicled

In 1964, James Brown, fresh from his Live At The Apollo triumph, sought to wrest creative control away from King Records by taking advantage of what he saw as a loophole in his contract. Brown believed that because King had signed James Brown & The Famous Flames, he could sign as a solo artist (sans Flames) with another label. Refusing to cut any more sides for King (his contract would shortly be up for grabs anyway) Brown joined forces with the Mercury subsidiary Smash. The release chaos that ensued must have perplexed his growing army of fans, with King issuing old material to nullify the impact of Smash releases.

This bizarre period in Mr Dynamite’s early career is vividly brought to life on this superb 36- track collection, the third volume in a series chronicling Brown’s prolific career as a singles artist. While at Smash he cut Out Of Sight, dispensing with orthodox song structure and relying on vamping. Even so, it wasn’t until 1965 that Brown pushed the proto-funk envelope further with the revolutionary Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag. Other highlights of this superbly-annotated set include organ-led instrumentals Soul Food and Devil’s Hideaway, plus a withdrawn I Got You from the movie Ski Party.

Hip-O Select | B 0008804-02

Reviewed by Charles Waring
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