James Brown was always a sharp businessman. When King Records folded, they owed Brown enough in back royalties that he was able to walk away with full possession of his masters! This material comes from his work at King from 1965 -75, but at the time it was released most of the King material was no longer in print. Much of this material had ever been released anyway! I have the 20 disc complete singles, but you can't put this together out of anything that I've ever seen.
This stands as one of the most unique of JB comps since he put it together himself. Brown was already the Godfather of Soul and Funk and nothing he had released in the previous 10+ years sounded anything like this! It seems a daring move and I don't recall the album being hugely popular, but I had a buddy who bought it and soon after so did I. It has long been a fave as it was my first exposure to his older material.
Messing with the Blues Review by Richie Unterberger
Although he is most famous for his innovations in soul and funk music, James Brown never lost sight of his blues and R&B roots. His albums often placed surprisingly rootsy covers of old chestnuts alongside his groundbreaking polyrhythmic workouts. This double CD compiles 30 of the bluesiest items from his vast recorded legacy. Cut between 1957 and 1985, most of the tracks actually date from the '60s; many of these, in turn, were laid down in the early part of the decade, when J.B. was gradually evolving from his more conventional beginnings. The artists whose songs are covered here read like a who's who of R&B pioneers: Louis Jordan, Roy Brown, Memphis Slim, Ivory Joe Hunter, Fats Domino, Chuck Willis, Little Willie John, Billy Ward, Guitar Slim, and Bobby Bland. It's quite an instructive insight into Brown's not-always-visible roots. It would be fair to say that this does not rank among his most exciting material, finding him in a smoother and more conventional style than his most innovative work. It is nonetheless always entertaining and accomplished, with Brown's love for this material shining through strongly in his committed interpretations. Especially intriguing are an 11-minute cover of Chuck Willis' "Don't Deceive Me" and a two-part, blues-based rap vamp from the early '70s, "Like It Is, Like It Was (The Blues)." The disc includes several unreleased cuts, alternate takes, and unedited versions of previously released songs.
