Star Time | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Box set by | ||||
Released | May 7, 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1956–1984 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 292:12 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Producer | Various | |||
James Brown chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | A+ [2] |
Entertainment Weekly | A [3] |
Mojo | |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | [4] |
Uncut | [5] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
Star Time is a four-CD box set by American musician James Brown. Released in May 1991 by Polydor Records, its contents span most of the length of his career up to the time of its release, starting in 1956 with his first hit record, "Please, Please, Please", and ending with "Unity", his 1984 collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa. Writing in 2007, Robert Christgau described it as "the finest box set ever released... as essential a package as the biz has ever hawked, not just because it's James Brown, but because compilers Cliff White and Harry Weinger invested so much care and knowledge in it." [7] Its title comes from the question Brown's announcer would ask concert audiences, as heard on the album Live at the Apollo : "Are you ready for star time?"
Star Time's liner notes, written by Cliff White, Harry Weinger, Nelson George, Alan Leeds, and Brown himself, won a 1991 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes. The notes also include a discography and a one-page comic by Mary Fleener, a visual interpretation of the song "I Got You (I Feel Good)."
In 2003, the album was ranked number 79 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [8] It was the second-highest ranking box set on the list. In 2012, it moved up to 75, [9] while in its 2020 revision, it moved to number 54. [10]
Adapted from CD booklet's liner notes.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Please Please Please" | James Brown, Johnny Terry | Debut single, A-side, mono, March 1956 | 2:43 |
2. | "Why Do You Do Me" | Bobby Byrd, Sylvester Keels | Debut single, B-side, mono, March 1956 | 2:59 |
3. | "Try Me" | Brown | Single, A-side, mono, October 1958 | 2:30 |
4. | "Tell Me What I Did Wrong" | Brown | B-side of "Try Me", mono, October 1958 | 2:20 |
5. | "Bewildered" | Leonard Whitcup, Teddy Powell | Think! (1960) | 2:21 |
6. | "Good Good Lovin'" | Brown, Albert Shubert | Single, A-side, stereo, July 1959 | 2:18 |
7. | "I'll Go Crazy" | Brown | Single, A-side, stereo, January 1960 | 2:05 |
8. | "I Know It's True" | Brown | B-side of "I'll Go Crazy", stereo, January 1960 | 2:40 |
9. | "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes, Pt. 1" | Dessie Rozier | Single, A-side, mono, February 1960 | 1:39 |
10. | "Think" | Lowman Pawling | Single, A-side, mono, May 1960 | 2:46 |
11. | "Baby, You're Right" | Brown, Joe Tex | Previously unreleased alternate take, September 1960 | 2:58 |
12. | "Lost Someone" | Brown, Byrd, Lloyd Eugene Stallworth | Single, A-side, stereo, November 1961 | 3:28 |
13. | "Night Train" | Oscar Washington, Lewis Simpkins, Jimmy Forrest | James Brown Presents His Band, October 1960 | 3:38 |
14. | "I've Got Money" | Brown | Single, A-side, mono, November 1962 | 2:29 |
15. | "I Don't Mind (live)" | Brown | Live at the Apollo (1963) | 2:29 |
16. | "Prisoner of Love" | Leo Robin, Russ Columbo, Clarence Gaskill | Single, A-side, stereo, April 1963 | 2:24 |
17. | "Devil's Den" | Ted Wright | Two-part single, mono, April 1963 | 4:48 |
18. | "Out of the Blue" | Wright, Terry | Previously unreleased alternate take, March 1964 | 2:15 |
19. | "Out of Sight" | Wright | Single, A-side, mono, July 1964 | 2:19 |
20. | "Grits" | Nat Jones, Wright | Grits & Soul (1964) | 3:58 |
21. | "Maybe the Last Time" | Wright | B-side of "Out of Sight", stereo July 1964 | 3:02 |
22. | "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" | Brown, Betty Newsome | Previously unreleased stereo mix, June 1964 | 3:22 |
23. | "I Got You" | Wright | Withdrawn single version, September 1964 | 2:27 |
24. | "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Pts. 1, 2 & 3" | Brown | Previously unreleased original complete take, February 1965 | 6:56 |
Total length: | 70:54 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Pt. 1" | Brown | Single, A-side, mono, July 1965 | 2:06 |
2. | "I Got You (I Feel Good)" | Brown | Single, A-side, mono, November 1965 | 2:45 |
3. | "Ain't That a Groove" | Brown, Jones | Previously unreleased unedited version | 3:31 |
4. | "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" | Brown, Newsome | Single, A-side, mono, April 1966 | 2:46 |
5. | "Money Won't Change You" | Brown, Jones | Previously unreleased complete version | 6:01 |
6. | "Don't Be a Dropout" | Brown, Jones | Previously unreleased unedited version | 4:31 |
7. | "Bring It Up (Hipster's Avenue)" | Brown, Jones | Previously unreleased unedited version | 3:48 |
8. | "Let Yourself Go" | Brown, Bud Hobgood | Previously unreleased unedited version | 3:53 |
9. | "Cold Sweat" | Brown, Alfred Ellis | Cold Sweat (1967) | 7:30 |
10. | "Get It Together" | Brown, Hobgood, Ellis | Two-part single, mono, October 1967 | 8:57 |
11. | "I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me), Pt. 1" | Brown | Single, A-side, stereo, December 1967 [note 1] | 3:29 |
12. | "I Got the Feelin'" | Brown | Single, A-side, stereo, April 1968 | 2:39 |
13. | "Licking Stick-Licking Stick" | Brown, Byrd, Ellis | Two-part single, stereo, May 1968 | 4:52 |
14. | "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud, Pt. 1" | Brown, Ellis | Single, A-side, stereo, August 1968 | 2:59 |
15. | "There Was a Time (live)" | Brown, Hobgood | Previously unreleased | 4:59 |
16. | "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" | Charles Bobbitt | Single, A-side, stereo, January 1969 | 3:10 |
17. | "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open up the Door I'll Get It Myself)" | Brown | Two-part single, stereo, March 1969 | 5:59 |
Total length: | 73:55 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mother Popcorn" | Brown, Ellis | Two-part single, stereo, June 1969 | 6:18 |
2. | "Funky Drummer" | Brown | Two-part single, stereo, March 1970 | 7:00 |
3. | "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine" | Brown, Byrd, Ron Lenhoff | Two-part single, stereo, July 1970 | 5:15 |
4. | "Super Bad, Pts. 1 & 2" | Brown | Previously unreleased stereo mix [note 2] | 4:26 |
5. | "Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothing" | Brown, Byrd | Previously unreleased original extended version [note 3] | 8:59 |
6. | "Get Up, Get into It and Get Involved" | Brown | Previously unreleased stereo mix [note 4] | 7:03 |
7. | "Soul Power, Pts. 1 & 2" | Brown | Previously unreleased unedited stereo version [note 5] | 4:25 |
8. | "Brother Rapp/Ain't It Funky Now (live)" | Brown | Previously unreleased live performance [note 6] | 7:44 |
9. | "Hot Pants, Pt. 1" | Brown, Fred Wesley | Single, A-side, mono, July 1971 | 3:06 |
10. | "I'm a Greedy Man, Pt. 1" | Brown, Bobbit | Single, A-side, stereo, November 1971 | 3:36 |
11. | "Make It Funky, Pt. 1" | Brown, Bobbit | Single, A-side, mono | 3:34 |
12. | "It's a New Day (live)" | Brown | Revolution of the Mind: Live at the Apollo, Volume III (1971) | 3:48 |
13. | "I Got Ants in My Pants, Pt. 1" | Brown | Single, A-side, stereo, November 1972 | 3:01 |
14. | "King Heroin" | Brown, Bobbit, Dave Matthews, Manny Rosen | Single, A-side, stereo, February 1972 | 3:57 |
Total length: | 72:12 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "There It Is, Pt. 1" | Brown | Single, A-side, stereo, February 1972 | 3:20 |
2. | "Public Enemy #1, Pt. 1" | Brown, Bobbit, Henry Stallings | There It Is (1972) | 5:09 |
3. | "Get on the Good Foot" | Brown, Wesley, Joseph Mims | Single, A-side, mono, July 1972 | 4:07 |
4. | "I Got a Bag of My Own" | Brown | Single, A-side, stereo, November 1972 | 3:44 |
5. | "Doing It to Death" | Brown | Single, A-side, mono, April 1973 [note 7] | 5:14 |
6. | "The Payback" | Brown, Wesley, John Starks | The Payback (1973) | 7:28 |
7. | "Papa Don't Take No Mess, Pt. 1" | Brown, Wesley, Starks, Bobbit | Hell (1974) | 4:22 |
8. | "Stoned to the Bone, Pt. 1" | Brown | Single, A-side, mono, November 1973 | 3:28 |
9. | "My Thang" | Brown | Previously unreleased mix [note 8] | 4:37 |
10. | "Funky President (People It's Bad)" | Brown | Single, A-side, stereo, October 1974 | 4:01 |
11. | "Hot (I Need to Be Loved, Loved, Loved)" | Brown | Single, A-side, stereo, December 1975 | 5:03 |
12. | "Get Up Offa That Thing (Release the Pressure)" | Diedre Jenkins, Deanna Brown, Yamma Brown | New edit created for Star Time [note 9] | 6:14 |
13. | "Body Heat, Pt. 1" | Jenkins, D. Brown, Y. Brown | Single, A-side, stereo, December 1976 | 4:29 |
14. | "It's Too Funky in Here" | George Jackson, Walter Shaw, Brad Shapiro, Robert Miller | The Original Disco Man (1979) | 5:39 |
15. | "Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses)" | J. Brown, Susaye Brown, Henry Stallings | Single, A-side, stereo, October 1980 | 4:36 |
16. | "Unity, Pt. 1" | Brown, Khayan Aasim Bambaataa, Douglas Wimbish, Bernard Alexander, Keith LeBlanc, Robin Haplin | Single, A-side, stereo, July 1984 | 3:40 |
Total length: | 75:11 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [11] | Gold | 125,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Forever Changes is the third studio album by the American rock band Love, released on November 1, 1967, by Elektra Records. The album saw the group embrace a subtler folk- and baroque pop-oriented sound based around acoustic guitars and orchestral arrangements, while primary songwriter Arthur Lee explored darker themes alluding to mortality and his growing disillusionment with the era's counterculture. It was the final album recorded by the original band lineup; after its completion, guitarist Bryan MacLean left the group acrimoniously, and Lee subsequently dismissed the other members.
Please Please Me is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released in the UK on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963. The album is 14 songs in length, and contains a mixture of cover songs and original material written by the partnership of band members John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
With the Beatles is the second studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, eight months after the release of the band's debut album, Please Please Me. Produced by George Martin, the album features eight original compositions and six covers. The sessions also yielded the non-album single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" backed by "This Boy". The cover photograph was taken by the fashion photographer Robert Freeman and has since been mimicked by several music groups. A different cover was used for the Australian release of the album, which the Beatles were displeased with.
A Hard Day's Night is the third studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 10 July 1964 by Parlophone, with side one containing songs from the soundtrack to their film of the same name. The American version of the album was released two weeks earlier, on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records, with a different track listing that included selections from George Martin's film score. In contrast to the Beatles' first two albums, all 13 tracks on A Hard Day's Night were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, showcasing the development of their songwriting partnership.
My Generation is the debut studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 3 December 1965 by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom, and Festival Records in Australia. In the United States, it was released on 25 April 1966 by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation, with a different cover and a slightly altered track listing. Besides the members of the Who, being Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar), John Entwistle (bass) and Keith Moon (drums), the album features contributions by session musician Nicky Hopkins (piano).
The Who Sell Out is the third studio album by the English rock band the Who. It was released on 15 December 1967 by Track Records in the UK and Decca Records in the US. A concept album, The Who Sell Out is structured as a collection of unrelated songs interspersed with fake commercials and public service announcements, including the second track "Heinz Baked Beans". The album purports to be a broadcast by pirate radio station Radio London. The reference to "selling out" was an intended irony, as the Who had been making real commercials during that period of their career, some of which are included as bonus tracks on the remastered CD.
Loaded is the fourth studio album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground, released in November 1970 by Atlantic Records subsidiary Cotillion. It was the final album recorded featuring the band’s remaining original members, including the lead singer and primary songwriter Lou Reed, who left the band shortly before the album's release, and the guitarist Sterling Morrison, who left the band in 1971 along with the drummer Maureen Tucker. For this reason, it is often considered by fans to be the last "true" Velvet Underground album. The multi-instrumentalist Doug Yule remained and released the album Squeeze in 1973 before the band's dissolution the same year.
Between the Buttons is the fifth British and seventh American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 20 January 1967 in the UK and 10 February in the US. Reflecting the band's brief foray into psychedelia and baroque pop balladry during the era, the album is among their most eclectic works; multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones frequently abandoned his guitar during the sessions in favour of instruments such as organ, marimba, dulcimer, vibraphone and kazoo. Keyboard contributions came from two session players: former Rolling Stones member Ian Stewart and frequent contributor Jack Nitzsche. Between the Buttons would be the last album produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, who had, to this point, acted as the band's manager and produced all of their albums.
Meet the Beatles! is a studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released as their second album in the United States. It was the group's first American album to be issued by Capitol Records, on 20 January 1964 in both mono and stereo formats. It topped the popular album chart on 15 February 1964 and remained at number one for eleven weeks before being replaced by The Beatles' Second Album. The cover featured Robert Freeman's iconic portrait of the Beatles used in the United Kingdom for With the Beatles, with a blue tint added to the original stark black-and-white photograph.
The Beatles' Second Album is the second Capitol Records album by the English rock band the Beatles, and their third album released in the United States including Introducing... The Beatles, which was issued three months earlier by Vee-Jay Records. Following its release in April 1964, The Beatles' Second Album replaced Meet the Beatles! at number 1 on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the US. The album was compiled mostly from leftover tracks from the UK album With the Beatles and the forthcoming UK Long Tall Sally EP, which are predominantly rock and roll and R&B covers, and rounded out with several Lennon-McCartney-penned non-album b-sides and the hit single "She Loves You". Among critics, it is considered the band's purest rock and roll album and praised for its soulful takes on both contemporary black music hits and original material.
The Early Beatles is the Beatles' sixth album released on Capitol Records, and their eighth album overall for the American market. All of the tracks on this album had previously been available on the Vee-Jay Records release Introducing... The Beatles, issued in January, 1964. The front cover photo for this album features the same back cover photo for the British LP Beatles for Sale.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the American group Sly and the Family Stone. It was first released on November 21, 1970, by Epic Records. The album includes all of the singles from the albums Dance to the Music (1968), Life (1968), and Stand! (1969).
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul is the third studio album by American soul singer and songwriter Otis Redding. It was first released on September 15, 1965, as an LP record through the Stax Records subsidiary label Volt.
Live at the Apollo is the first live album by James Brown and the Famous Flames, recorded at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in October 1962 and released in May 1963 by King Records. Capturing Brown's popular stage show for the first time on record, the album was a major commercial and critical success and cemented his status as a leading R&B star.
"Please, Please, Please" is a rhythm and blues song performed by James Brown and the Famous Flames. Written by Brown and Johnny Terry and released as a single on Federal Records in 1956, it reached No. 6 on the R&B charts. The group's debut recording and first chart hit, it has come to be recognized as their signature song.
The Kink Kronikles is a compilation double album by the Kinks, released on Reprise Records in 1972, after the band had signed with RCA Records in 1971. It contains thirteen non-album singles, fourteen tracks taken from five albums released by the band from 1966 to 1971, and one track previously unreleased. Designed specifically for the American market, it peaked at No. 94 on the Billboard 200. The single versions and mixes were not necessarily used for each track.
In the Jungle Groove is a compilation album by American funk musician James Brown, released in August 1986 by Polydor Records.
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff is widely considered one of the greatest hooks of all time. The song's lyrics refer to sexual frustration and commercialism.
"Get Up Sex Machine" is a funk song recorded by James Brown with Bobby Byrd on backing vocals. Released as a two-part single in 1970, it was a no. 2 R&B hit and reached no. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Rarities is the name of two separate and unrelated compilation albums by the English rock band the Beatles. The first was released in the United Kingdom in December 1978, while the second album was issued in the United States in March 1980.