Soul on Top

Soul on Top
Studio album by James Brown
Released	April 1970
Recorded	November 10–11, 1969
Genre	Soul, jazz
Length	51:57 (2004 reissue)
Label	King
Producer	James Brown
James Brown chronology
Ain't It Funky (1970) Soul on Top (1970) It's a New Day – Let a Man Come In (1970)

Soul on Top is the 28th studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released in April 1970, by King. Brown and saxophonist Maceo Parker worked with arranger/conductor Oliver Nelson to record a big band, funk and jazz vocal album. It was recorded with Louie Bellson and his 18-piece jazz orchestra at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California in November 1969, and features jazz standards, show tunes, and middle of the road hits, as well as a new arrangement of Brown's funk hit "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag".

The album was reissued in 2004 with one previously unreleased bonus track, a big band version of Brown's 1967 hit "There Was a Time", and new liner notes by jazz critic Will Friedwald.

Chart performance

The album debuted on Billboard magazine's Top LP's chart in the issue dated May 16, 1970, peaking at No. 125 during a ten-week run on the chart. ^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[3]
The Village Voice	A [4]

Reviewing the Verve reissue for The Village Voice in September 2004, Tom Hull said, "This extends Ray Charles's omnivorous big-band soul, with Brown reinventing standards—'That's My Desire,' 'September Song,' 'Every Day I Have the Blues,' 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag'—in front of Louie Bellson's orchestra, which arranger-conductor Oliver Nelson barely manages to discipline, so caught up is the band in the singer's excitement. In Brown's discography, just a curio. But in the whole history of big band jazz, there's never been a singer like him." ^[4]

Track listing

Original release

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"That's My Desire"	Helmy Kressa, Carroll Loveday	4:08
2.	"Your Cheatin' Heart"	Hank Williams	2:59
3.	"What Kind of Fool Am I?"	Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley	3:02
4.	"It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World"	James Brown, Betty Jean Newsome	6:22
5.	"The Man in the Glass"	Bud Hobgood	5:56

Side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"It's Magic"	Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne	3:09
7.	"September Song"	Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill	4:29
8.	"For Once in My Life"	Ron Miller, Orlando Murden	4:33
9.	"Every Day I Have the Blues"	Memphis Slim	3:30
10.	"I Need Your Key (To Turn Me On)"	Louie Bellson	3:44
11.	"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"	Brown	2:57

CD reissue

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"That's My Desire"	Helmy Kressa, Carroll Loveday	4:10
2.	"Your Cheatin' Heart"	Hank Williams	2:59
3.	"What Kind of Fool Am I?"	Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley	3:06
4.	"It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World" (Unedited Version)	James Brown, Betty Jean Newsome	6:40
5.	"The Man in the Glass"	Bud Hobgood	5:56
6.	"It's Magic"	Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne	3:14
7.	"September Song" (Unedited Version)	Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill	5:02
8.	"For Once in My Life" (Unedited Version)	Ron Miller, Orlando Murden	4:43
9.	"Every Day I Have the Blues" (Unedited Version)	Memphis Slim	4:28
10.	"I Need Your Key (To Turn Me On)"	Louie Bellson	3:46
11.	"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"	Brown	4:41
12.	"There Was a Time" (previously unissued)	Brown, Bud Hobgood	3:04

Personnel

• James Brown - vocal
• Oliver Nelson - arranger and conductor
• Ernie Watts, Joe Romano - alto saxophone
• Maceo Parker, Buddy Collette, Pete Christlieb - tenor saxophone
• Jim Mulidore - baritone saxophone
• Al Aarons, Chuck Findley, John Audino, Tom Porello - trumpet
• Jimmy Cleveland, Nick DiMaio, Kenny Shroyer, Bill Tole - trombone
• Frank Vincent - piano
• Bill Pitman, Louis Shelton - guitar
• Ray Brown - bass guitar
• Louis Bellson - drums, bandleader
• Jack Arnold - percussion

Notes

• Terrel, Tom (October 5, 2004). "James Brown's 'Soul on Top' Reissued". National Public Radio. Retrieved on April 27, 2007.

Charts

Chart (1970)	Peak position
US Billboard Top LPs [1]	125

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1955–1972. Record Research. p. 23. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
2. Henderson, Alex. "James Brown: Soul on Top > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
3. Cross, Charles R. (2004). "James Brown". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  109. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
4. Hull, Tom (September 28, 2004). "Jazz Consumer Guide (2): The Caribbean Tinge". The Village Voice . Retrieved June 25, 2020– via tomhull.com.

Further reading

• Christian McBride (2015). "Mr. Soul on Top". Retrieved July 5, 2022. Christian McBride's recollections about convincing James Brown to join him for a 2006 revival performance of "Soul On Top" at the Hollywood Bowl.