A host of wonderful work produced by
James Brown – most of it by a range of different singers, and one by The Godfather himself! The collection brings together some of the earliest
James Brown productions – mid 60s tracks recorded for King and Smash Records, most of which aren't nearly as well known as later JB productions for the People and Polydor labels! As with that later work, all the grooves here are right in the same territory that
James was hitting himself – upbeat, funky, and stone out of sight soul – all with plenty of rough edges, and backings from the same tight core of musicians that were helping out
Brown on his recordings. The package is a real treasure – and is a great complement to the
James Brown Singles collections from the Hip-O Select label – proof that even in these early days,
James was clearly the hardest working man in show business – given all his time in the studio with other artists! 22 tracks in all – including "I Found Out" and "I'll Keep Pressing On" by Bobby Byrd, "That's When I Cry" and "If You
Don't Think" by Anna King, "I
Don't Care" and "Unexplainable" by Dizzy Jones, "Got No Excuse" and "If You
Don't Work You Can't Eat" by
James Crawford, "Do You Really
Want To Rescue Me (part 1)" by Elsie Mae, "Lookie Lookie Lookie" by The Jewells, "Wide Awake In A Dream" and "
Nobody Cares" by Vicki Anderson, "Devil's Den" by The Poets, "It Hurts To Be In Love" by Yvonne Fair, "That's The Spirit" by Rev Willingham, "Faith" by The Five Royales, "I Cried" by Tammy Montgomery, "Soul Food (parts 1 & 2)" by Al Brisco Clark, and "New Breed (The Boo Ga Loo) (part 1)" by
James Brown.