USED 4CD - James Brown - Star Time

It would seem impossible to summarise James Brown's contribution to R&B--to American music--in a mere four compact discs, but somehow Star Time does it. This boxed set charts Brown's early rise as a hard-hitting R&B-styled vocalist ("Please Please Please", "Try Me") and shows how his band-leading skills (one can't forget inventive players like saxophonist Maceo Parker, bassist Bootsy Collins, drummer Jabo Starks, and many others) changed the face of soul and invented funk in the 1960s and early '70s with impeccably timed ("Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"), highly rhythmic ("I Can't Stand It"), primal ("Licking Stick Licking Stick") hits. The box also does a definitive programming job on Brown's more spotty later years--another plus. This is where beginners should start, but several extended versions and rarities (such as "Papa", raised an octave on original release, at normal speed) make it a must for completists too. --Don Harrison