Box Sets Part 2: Star Time

I was going to do a James Brown album, but I realized that I cannot do an album without mentioning where my love for James Brown started.  When I worked at the local library we only had one James Brown album and it was music from his somewhat inconsistent 1980's period.  A regular at the library gave me a two record set that had at thirty songs on it.  The set was divided with early James Brown and then later.  Looking on information about it It was music that covered from 1956 to 1976. What is awesome about this album was that it has some rare single edits that never saw the light if day until the compact disc era.  It was an awesome introduction.

Then in 1991 my best friend came home with new music.  My jaw dropped.  Four cassette's of quality James Brown.  I quickly came to him to read the notes.  This was my first introduction to his later music that I come to love.  This would be the era between 1967-1976.  My favorite period of James Brown.  My best friend made a deal I can borrow cassette three and four and when done I can borrow the other two cassettes.  I quickly grabbed a blank cassette and picked my favorites.  There was one problem, I like it all.  What I did I filled one side with music from the albums and the second side I picked the unreleased music.  Win Win right?  Wrong.  There was so much to go through and the notes made me want it all.

Each of the four CD's in this set is divided into four unique titles and these titles explain what they are chronicling. Disc 1 is Mr. Dynamite and covers his early years.  It is a nice explanation on his foundations of what his music was to become.  If anything his musical reputation and his roots would start here.  Disc 2 was called The Hardest Working Man In Show Business and this covers his classic mid sixties period and would bring his reputation for the hard worker he was.  This is some of the music I put on the cassette to listen to.  This is also the music that made me love James Brown more and more.

Soul Brother #1 was the title of Disc 3 and it was next and that was the one I played the most because it was the era of James Brown I liked the most.  I still do because of his funky sounds and his most influential work.  This era of music was were all the rap samples came from.  If you were a rapper in the 80's and early 90's you more then likely grabbed a beat or a grove from this era of James Brown career. 

Godfather of Soul is the title of disc 4.  Although, not the period of James Brown that I liked it was still informative.  I think I get a little sad hearing a little bit of decline in his career.  Early in the disc is some of my favorite stuff, but near the end it looses a bit steam.  All in all, the box set has a lot of other James Brown retrospectives don't have and that is it puts some of the best James from each era and the sound is better then ever.

This Box Set is better then most box sets.  The notes are superb and as a kid reading this it was an education.  Not an education for me, but some his most dedicated fans will learn about the songs and also will love the single and edits that really make James Brown's music unique.  Star Time was one of the first box sets that I started listening to.  It's up there Crossroads by Eric Clapton and Biograph by Bob Dylan.  Sure there are countless other's in the box set craze that started in the late 80's and early 90's, but these documents of music along with Star Time are some of the best. If you know this box set or debating to buy anything James Brown, buy this and your James Brown fix will be more then satisfied.  Enjoy!