VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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The first in the wildly popular three-disc series, James Brown's Funky People is an outstandingly chunky collection that spotlights some of the many talented musicians associated with James Brown and his early- to mid-'70s People Records imprint. The material comprising this disc is split primarily between the J.B.'s, Fred Wesley both with and without the J.B.'s, and one of funk's original divas, Lyn Collins. "Gimme Some More," "Pass the Peas," "Givin' up Food for Funk (Part 1)," and "Hot Pants Road" are the J.B.'s' offerings, spectacular studio recordings that highlight some of the band's best material for the label – material which at the time was often passed over in favor of their "proper" James Brown recordings. Fred Wesley, meanwhile, weighs in with the CD-only long version of "Damn Right, I Am Somebody (Parts 1 & 2)," before joining the J.B.'s on three more tracks, including the epic "(It's Not the Express) It's the J.B.'s Monaurail (Part 1)." This particular song, credited to Fred and the New J.B.'s, was recorded during one of the more traumatic times in the James Brown camp and, when compared to the other classics on this CD, doesn't have the same spark or fire. And if anyone questioned the odd spelling in the title, the band's request that if you don't know what a monorail is "check out Seattle" clears up any doubt. The Lyn Collins tracks feature a mono version of "Mama Feelgood" and the outstanding "Think (About It)," a song that would become an iconoclastic symbol of the funk era, heavily sampled by over 40 artists during the 1980s and 1990s. Included, too, is the bonus "Same Beat (Part 1)," recorded by Wesley and the J.B.'s on September 7, 1973, in New York.

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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This is the follow up to the first compilation. In a matter of two years, James Brown and his proteges became the source of inspiration for thousands of hip-hop producers and DJ's, to the point where almost every rap album between 1986-1988 had at least one, if not five, James Brown-related samples. Even the liner notes to this CD acknowledges it. Stetsasonic, in a song they did called "Talkin' All That Jazz", stated tell the truth, James Brown was old/till Eric and Ra came out with "I Got Soul/rap brings back old R&B/and if we would not, people could've forgot. James Brown's had been in the business for 30 years, playing small night clubs, but it was the younger generation who heard his music and made him a hero.

The songs on James Brown's Funky People (Part 2) features more music from the People label. Outside of the sample pool, they make for some incredible soul and funk, and from James Brown a knack to work the system in his own way for all that it was worth, resulting in an overwhelming amount of singles and albums.

Even with the first two compilations, and the third which had taken twelve years to materialize, it still doesn't tap into all of the other smaller projects with JB's stamp of approval.

The second volume of material compiled from Brown's People Records label isn't quite as strong as the first, as it reaches for more obscurities – but those obscurities can be interesting, especially Brown's collaboration with Hank Ballard on "From the Love Side." Again, Brown wrote (or co-wrote), arranged, and produced much of the material, appearing on vocals several times, and the J.B.'s are featured heavily, whether as a unit or with individual members stepping out as solo acts. The highlights are Bobby Byrd's two 1971 R&B hits, "I Know You Got Soul" and "Hot Pants – I'm Coming, Coming, I'm Coming"; also featured are Marva Whitney, Lyn Collins, and Fred Wesley, among others.

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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James Brown's Funky People, Pt. 3 collects more funky tracks from Brown's early '70s People label, which included Vicki Anderson, Hank Ballard and the Dapps, Lyn Collins, and the Dee Felice Trio. The album opens with the hard-to-find "rock" version of Brown's "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothin'," which was withdrawn within days of its release, and also includes a previously unreleased, undubbed version of Fred Wesley & the J.B.s' "Blow Your Head." Rare singles such as Sweet Charles' "Hang out & Hustle" and Beau Dollar's "Who Knows" complete this collection, which consists entirely of songs that have never appeared on CD before.

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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VA - James Brown's Funky People (Parts 1-3) (1986/1988/2000) {Polydor} **[RE-UP]**

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