James Brown

In 1965 James Brown altered the role of the rhythm section in black popular music radically
and irrevocably. White listeners, understandably enthralled by the innovations of groups
like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, paid scant attention at first. But black fans
understood immediately, perhaps because the components of Brown's new bag had long
been a part of their aural environment. The chunky, broken-up bass patterns, s... More >

Great stuff on the two good sides--tricky horn charts, "Please, Please, Please" with a Spanish accent, law-enforcement advice. Then there's the side of ballads w/strings, which might be all right if they were also w/voice, and the side that begins "I Can't Stand It '76." (Grade: B)