James Brown Live At The Apollo

yeahhhh ive got a hounddog and a runaway trainnn

Quite a fun album and great voice but nothing stand out

very good live performance, had the crowd begging for more James Brown. solid piece that should have everyone listen to in regards of a live album.

I can picture how sweaty James Brown was while recording this.

If you like Micheal Jackson's music, then you might like this album as well. I highly recommend that you listen to this album.

2.9/3

I was disappointed by James Brown Live At The Apollo because he's such an iconic performer and vocalist with energy and swagger (the guy was a megacunt but that's nothing new on this list) but it doesn't really come across in this performance. It's a little slower, soulful but not full of soul, just feels like it's not representative of his best work, and it's a long way short of the best live albums we've had too. Gets a 3 because it's just fine, but I expected more really.

This was a bit underwhelming, you expect an awful lot from someone reputed to be one of the all time greatest live performers, and it doesn't quite come through on this. There's this great energy at the beginning of most of the songs, that kind of evaporates quite quickly; this is recorded before he has his biggest hits, so we miss out on those, and it's just a bit too short (not often I complain about that). But, some of the energy in places is infectious, his voice is great, and it's a decent ride. 3/5.

3/5. Thought this was just good – no more, no less. I could tell Mr Brown was doing some things that were sending the crowd fucking wild, but all I could think about was how 1) I wasn't there and 2) I couldn't see it. The voice and the energy are iconic, but the neo-luddite in me can't help but think live albums are better when visual. Was really excited when this album was generated for me. Note to self, never get your hopes up.

He showcased his vocals pretty well. Overall, for a live album, I did not love it.

11/04 never heard of it. A very fun listen. Idk if it really benefits from being a live album but I enjoyed the listen!

It’s classic old school James Brown and therefore never going to be bad, but honestly, and especially for a live recording, it just didn’t seem to have the customary James Brown energy.

This was super great, but tbh i feel like would be a lot better if i saw it live. He is still the king though do not want it to seem like I'm putting any hate on king james' name, just wasn't the most entertaining thing to listen to.

James Brown is (rightly, in my opinion) one of the best Funk and Soul musicians of all time. Is this his best album? Questionable. It definitely isn't the best recording and features none of his greatest hits. Still, early (peak?) James Brown deserves to be on this list.

Aaagoowh. Probably wouldn't listen again often, but great soul, some good rhythms.

Favorite songs: Try Me, I'll Go Crazy, Night Train.

This a great performance and the energy of the crowd makes it no contest, but I find the overall songs a bit monotonous sometimes and it’s just not my cup of tea at the end of the day. 3 stars, because I wouldn’t really listen again.

I love the energy of the crowd and the fun grooves, but there’s better things out there from James Brown in my opinion.

Fairly decent.

Starts strong, live blues

Bit boring

Whilst I am not typically a huge live album fan I really quite enjoyed this one.

A pleasant enough live experience. Few high-highs, no low-lows. 3/5.

High 3. Fun live album

Love James Brown, not my favorite album

classic

By far not what I had expected. It's nice but not so powerful as the better known songs by JB. Ok but not more.

Okay it’s a James Brown live show. It’s well executed and produced. Not sure it’s all that special.

wowie zowie, this just might be the best music I've ever heard in my life!! (I didn't type this idk where it came from)

Soulful shit but nowhere near the peak of my man JB (don't call him that)

Great performer.

overall pretty enjoyable, just don’t think i’ll replay it often

Can see why he was so popular

Fantastic vocals, great band, and a well constructed set, but this is my least favourite of the live recorded albums I've had so far. James Brown is obviously excellent at audience interaction, it sounded like they were having a blast, but all the screaming is not my cup of tea. Compared to other live recordings from the same era, I think the recording quality could have been better.

Solid live album. I like the album art.

Just okay. I thought I would like it more.

Not bad Very soulful but I want my JB funky

wow, what an energy! he certainly could move his audience...

Enjoyable enough

I hadn't really realized that before James Brown invented funk he was a pretty decent r&b singer. This is from that period and pretty standard of the genre although in the second half the atmosphere gets more loose and meandering and theatrical and you can kind of see what direction Brown might be heading in. I am not entirely sure if it works as an album per se, but that's largely due to my slight aversion to live albums. When the trade off is between the energy of a live recording and the care and attention to detail of a studio version, I usually prefer the latter but, to be honest, this might be one of those instances where it could be argued that it would have been impossible to create this kind of electricity in the studio.

Lidt for kort desværre

I used to live right by the Apollo so this was a special treat and took me back to a different time. Not something I would listen to again, but a fun experience.

I prefer James Brown's funkier stuff and find it hard to appreciate a live album. Still, the influence he's had on artists over decades is apparent here.

Good, but short album. A bit upbeat for me, though I enjoyed it.

Fun but I wanted to like it more than I did.

Too much screaming for my brain to handle. Still impressed with the quality of his voice for an old live recording.

Mid

I felt good listening to this. Great live

Great background album - it's classic James Brown. It must have been super fun live.

Highlights: I Don't Mind, Lost Someone. In a nutshell: Daaaaammmmmmn! James is turning it on here! And the band is hot to go. Everyone seamlessly transitions between songs. This would have been amazing to see live. Overall: 6/10

this was okay, pretty short with a long song

So this is very enjoyable, but I disagree on principle with live albums being in here.

185/1001 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

It’s a good live hype album. Lost Someone seems to be a song that was an experience live, but I didn’t get absorbed by the recording. It’s essentially the same blues progression with no changes for 11 minutes with 30 seconds between verses by Brown. I’m glad I finally listened to this album, but don’t think I’ll revisit it. 3/5

Quite ok, but I think you must have been there

Nice. Not amazing

jimmy sang and hes got the groove and stuff his only 1001 representation really is just a live album huh

3- Stars (7/15)

For being live and Jazz, I actually didn't mind it. Was a pretty groovy album to listen to. None of the songs were "add to daily mixable", but it was still good.

It was almost over before it even started. Wow - James Brown and his musicians were just on fire. Very enjoyable

3/5

Very energetic performances of covers and James Brown tunes. Definitely worth a listen if you are only familiar with the hits like I was before listening to this album.

Quintessential James Brown. Live albums are always interesting. Trying to pick up on the energy present but sadly it just felt like I was too distant.

só a abertura vale umas 4 estrelas .

This rocks

This is a freight train of energy, as to be expected. Like stepping back in time.

Definitely seems like a classic of the genre. Just not my favorite genre. 3/5

It feels like I have listened to many "Live at ..." albums in throughout this list. Each time they become a little less impressive

It's star time...

He's a good singer and the instrumentals are decent but the live element of this is just much too irritating.

It was ok

Decent

Too short tbh

Tapers off a good bit in the back half (a better way to put this is that it changes modes and I prefer the first mode), but pretty damn great all the same. Surely these have to get worse at some point, I’m not used to so much great music in such a short span.

Too short, I want at least another hour of this

It's fine.

Alright

Live At The Apollo is one of those albums that everyone likes because it has mass appeal and works really well as a sum of its parts. It’s groovy, funky, all-ages fun. The issue is, I rarely listen to those parts on their own. Hell, I rarely revisit Apollo as a whole, as it is. What’s more, I think this era of funk has just been culturally regulated to Wedding Music™️. Maybe I’m showing my age/that I’m at that point in life where you spend your fall going to 5 weddings, but this style is just sonic novocaine to my ears. This is a quintessential example of an album I respect a lot more than I enjoy. But that’s also how I feel about James Brown generally.

The recording sounded OK but I didn't feel like the live format really helped this album. I had a good time listening though, how mad can I be?

He knows how to command a stage! This was short and sweet

It must have been a very special concert, with the women screaming and all. Listening to it 60 years later is nice but not much more than that.

Pretty electric and pretty awesome, filled with a lot of songs I wasn't familiar with, albeit a short album.

Solid live not my taste but I know enough that I can appreciate this. 2.75

Great energy. Really knew how to rile up a crowd. Unfortunately, didn't feel much listening to it. 2.5/5 = ok

It's CLASSIC James Brown, but I'm hard pressed to say it's the best of James Brown as there are obscure albums of his with amazing cuts, better audio, and less crowd sounds.

Left wishing I could see the passion that I can only hear and imagine.

My measure for rating live albums is how badly do I want to have been at the show. I’m having a difficult time understanding how the music critics think this is the greatest live album, and one of the greatest albums, of all time. It’s a fine album and I’m sure I would have had a fun time in the audience, but I don’t feel overwhelmingly excited.

Enjoyable. Lively.

Soulful R&B even on a live album just hits in a certain way. And that the mans voice is as smooth as they come only makes that more obvious. Standouts Try Me "I wanna scream"/5 (3/5)

Half the James Brown experience is seeing him do that thing where he collapses on stage, seemingly from exhaustion, and a stage hand drapes a cape over him to usher him out, only for James Brown to discard the cape and come back to life.

Good but not amazing. Love James Brown and this is a fabulous band, but I prefer the later 60s early/early 70s version of JB. Heard this a few times over the years, but even this listen is fun but not something I’d revisit.

This is JB before JB. He has not yet turned up the funk machine to its full glory to become Mr. Dynamite. Here he shows up as a really good R & B / soul singer. The seeds are there - the showmanship, the energy, the voice. The band is tight, it's just that the material is not quite fully there yet.

aperto de mente

It's a lot of fun to listen to, but not very interesting, if that makes sense. James Brown's shouts and screams are fun, but the rabid fans' in the crowd are not.

I'll Go Crazy Try Me I Don't Mind Medley : Please, Please, Please / You've Got the Power / I Found Someone / Why Do You Do Me / I Want You So Bad / I Love You, Yes I Do / Strange Things Happen / Bewildered / Please, Please, Please

Very James Brown, children!

Hopefully my last problematic yet talented human on the list Would have been quite a show

Vilken inledning! Det är svängigt och rösten är bra. Think och Lost Someone gillar jag. Publiken verkar älska Please Please mest. Det är genomgående bra men inte egentligen musik jag vanligtvis lyssnar på. Säkert en riktigt bra konsert men liveskiva är svårt, tar fokus från musiken. Några av hans hits är ju inte med på denna skiva. En 3a. Den är bra men inte bäst.

Rätt jobbig live-skiva med allt publikskrik. Det svänger dock skönt.

Great energy, but it really doesn't do much for me otherwise.

Enjoyed, but not something I'd put on myself.

I had to deduct stars because I hate live recordings. Also because this was an odd mix of full songs and instrumentals as songs. James Brown is a fantastic entertainer and I wish I could have seen live.

Album 454 of 1001 James Brown - James Brown Live At The Apollo Rating : 3.95 / 5 I like James Brown more than I like this album. Can't say too many things negative about a recording of him live at The Apollo. Though I'm not a big fan of live albums, this one does put you in a place you'll never be able to go again. They are all having a great time.

I Love James Brown. I am sure this performance was electric in person, but this album is not

Un sorprendente registro en vivo de una de las presentaciones más potentes del "Padrino del Soul". A pesar de su controversial vida, en sus inicios podemos notar su talento y cómo influenció a gran parte de la comunidad de músicos norteamericanos afrodescendientes. Recomendable.

funky wunky awesome possum

Never listened to older James Brown music. Not bad. Funky godfather of soul. 3 stars

Lots of screaming.

Groovy

Couldn’t get into the album, though I understand why he was such a charismatic star of his time. His vocal style just wasn’t for me.

Cool

Decent live album, James has the audience in the palm of his hand here

Great album! James Brown at his best!

No ha sido mi album favorito pero debería de oirlo más.

Magnaður listamaður og ótrúlegur söngur. Þessi lög voru samt ekki að heilla mig og þessir eilífu píkuskrækir skemmdu alla vega fyrir mér.

classic R and B live performance. Wish I could see him dancing during this!

R&B, soul.

Just a short, solid live performance with a great atmosphere, nothing that blows me away though. Also, the album art is cool.

Rarely do I enjoy live albums anymore but this is now 2 for 2 on live albums through this site. This is great background music that from time to time stops you in your tracks and just has you grooving to what it has to offer. Choice cut: I Don’t Mind

This thing literally flew by. Not many of his hits, but still enjoyable. I'm not sure why this one was on the list though?

Not a bad album. I think some of these older live albums are better than more modern live albums.

Jeg kan sagtens forstå at den har opnået status som legendarisk, og atmosfæren er en klar 5’er. Dog er musikken langt hen af vejen kedelig blues/soul, hvad der kendetegner tiden.

In my notes for a different live album from this project, I said something about enjoying a live album more when I can't hear the audience. Truly don't know what I was smoking saying that. Maybe it was something I enjoyed about that particular album, finding the mix impressive, idk. But I love hearing the audience usually. It amplifies the frisson. Goosebumps galore. Hearing the women screaming and ow-ing in this recording at the Apollo makes me wish I could use a time machine and be there in person. I'm giving it 3 stars, but only because I don't have a desire to relisten any time soon. For me, 4/5 stars are for albums I want to hear more than once or twice. It would be great to own on vinyl to spin on special occasions though.

It didn’t seem like he was live. Of course there was one girl screaming bloody murder every so often but besides that it was awfully quiet. Unless concert etiquette has changed… it wasn’t bad wasn’t amazing. Didn’t like the suggested music after though.

Hear the scream.. dont feel it.. Im not a women..

Never realized how much James got the crowds going. Those girls were going nuts for him. Good stuff

Great singer. Live format gives a lot of vibe, but it doesn't fit well in every situation. Enjoyed

Was hoping this would stand out more. Good not great.

This was good, but after a while felt like I was being yelled at.

what do you want me to say? it's a live album. i bet it would've slapped if I was there.

this was fine but nothing stellar for me. I'm sure it would've been very exciting to be there, but none of these are the huge James Brown hits I'm familiar with and the two long songs at the end (which together make up half the album's runtime) were a bit much. i listened to this album twice to make sure i didn't miss something but i guess it just didn't really click for me. james brown is still a great and exciting singer, and his band is really locked in with tight, impressive playing, so credit where credit is due. favorites: try me, night train

It's good but it's not great. Partially due to the fact I'm not a huge fan of live albums and partially due to I prefer JB's hard funk from the 70s over the R&B 60's output. Still, it's a decent listen and there is good material on here.

Fun live album Standout songs: Ill go Crazy Lost someone Night Train

Nice

Fun live album before he got huge.

James Brown is dead! He’s good here though. Feels good!

Pleasant but preferred Sarah Vaughan 5/10

Bit slower than I would prefer but pretty good

Almost got itself a 4. Just don’t think it’s something I would ever sit down and choose to listen to. Certainly a good vibe though. Simpsons: Guest star

It was alright, wouldn't choose to listen again though.

I liked it. Fun live album. Great energy

Its alright

finds immer cute wies früener d artists vorgstellt hend (han gad hüt per zuefall glese, dass de james brown glaub nöd so en coole guy gsi isch) die nur churzi pause zwüsche I'll go crazy und try me insane geil und natürlich s gekreische hahaha bläser au so geil hmm ich finds sehr schön aber s fühlt sich chli lang ah obwohl s ganze nur e halb stund gaht...liit wahrsch ah mier aber ja

Another classic artist who stands in front of a towering support band. They are *tight*. Props to them. This is fantastic music. James Brown? He's aight.

Forgot to write earlier. Good live jazz, albeit a bit short. One song is worth 1/3 of the run time, and it was just okay. Wasn’t the most creative jazz performance I’ve listened to. Standouts: Try Me, I Don’t Mind, and Medley: Please Please Please/You’ve Got The Power/I Found Someone.

I enjoyed it but not as much as I expected I would.

I've mentioned previously that I'm not generally a fan of live albums, but I think this will be a good one. James Brown is a ton of fun. This album was decent but not a favorite of mine. 3/5

Fun album. Quick and had a handful of memorable moments.

The beginning of Night Train made me think of the Eddie Murphy impersonation from Raw.

As much as I wanted yo like it, I just couldn’t. It’s not terrible, just not into it.

Good, would have been better if I was there

Fun little listen. Can't see me putting into the regular rotation, but enjoyable all the same.

Only thing would that make this better is a better recording. Live recordings of this period were not the best.

Honestly, a really awful recording of a great artist. the live sections really took away from what was happening in this.

This recordig/mix leaves mich to be desired. And the tracking/timing/arrangement was weird. But it's James Browns so...

Great live album, enjoyed this a lot

Man this one was fun. Listening to all the people loosing their mind in the audience is also very fun. A good vocal performance, nice accompaniment and if you enjoy classing 60s rock hes definitely a good choice.

You can feel the power of the live performer in this, and that's pretty exciting, especially early on (I very nearly plumped for the intro as the standout track, as it got me pretty giddy). The songs don't really match the excitement of the performance, which is a shame. It's all quite basic and same-y unfortunately.

His band isn't as good as others from that era. Mid lineup tbh.

He invented a few genres and can imagine seeing him in 62 would have been a riot. Battery aside, he got the funk.

Though not enamored of soul in general, the quality of Brown's band is remarkable to me. I'm a sucket for horns though. I hope to see more James Brown on this journey.

Crowd is crazy :-)

Oh this is fun. Familiar voice with mostly unfamiliar songs to me but you can hear the exuberance of the performance though the recording. Not something that I might seek out all the time but enjoyable nonetheless

I enjoyed it, but like many of these older albums it’s more of appreciating a historical piece than something I would actually regularly play. However, I like the funk/ blues/ soul sound of the music as evidence by the other songs that came on the album radio

Fantastic recording of a time and sound that, in the moment, must have been electrifying.

Short

I was looking forward to this but I should have known nothing will ever live up to his performance in Rocky 4

I expected a longer live set from the hardest working man in show business but I think they had a weird habit in those days of chopping up the recordings and changing the order around, missing songs etc

Definitely explains the fuss, which one has long heard about but never fully got. The band is almost painfuflly tight, and some of the cuts almost vanishingly short – it was a different era, one supposes. Weird that the record itself is so brief. "Try Me" is pretty deeply affecting.

Certainly I side of James Brown I have not been exposed to before. I really like the intro and the bridges and Lost Somone is good with my fave being Night Train.

Pretty good, it's nice hearing the crowds reaction to his performance.

I enjoy the energy on some songs, but I really don’t like the screaming voice. Some songs were fun, made you want to move, but not my thing.

I commend it for giving me the authentic live experience: getting annoyed with other people in the audience. Very cool album cover.

Classic

I bet it would’ve been amazing to be there. It was fun to hear the screaming and hollering. I also really enjoyed the horns.

Feel like I’m on. 3 star run. Maybe four or five in a row. Prolly added interest after my recent Memphis trip where I went to Blues hall of fame museum. I’d say 50/50 on the songs on this album. Maybe it’d be higher if not live. Don’t like the crowd yelps throughout.

Very brass forward backing music, but entertaining

The highlight on this album is the orchestra /band, they sound sharp and I bet this gig was amazing. It’s also charming to hear Brown before his funk period, there’s almost an innocence to the record in hindsight.

Not a fan of live albums, but this was a decent listen

Ongelofelijk goede artiest. The godfather of blues. Toch ben ik niet zo'n fan helaas.

One of the greatest on-stage performers ever, doing what he does best. The crowd is rabid, but they quiet down to still hear every word he sings. Barely a half hour, and he's got the crowd eating out of his hand with ease. Not too many others on that level.

funky I like it

After a while there's just too much yelping

3.5 stars , pretty cool.

Kinda let down by this one after all the hype over the years.

Soul blues thing live

Short! 30 minutes. Fun. Fine. I’ve heard way better stuff from him. Probably a whole lot better if you can see him dance and perform.

James brown is great but this wasn’t the greatest live album I’ve gotten on this album. There were some fun bits but it never really felt like it crescendoed to songs that blew the roof off the venue. Like lost someone and medley are both fine but they still feel like tracks early in the setlist before you get to the crazy stuff. I might just be scrounging for rationales instead of just saying this didnt do it for me but whatever.

Bueno

R&B, soul.

It seems incomplete for some reason.

Det lyder som om at kvinderne havde en fest (eller nærmere poolparty, if you catch my drift 😏🍑🍑💦)

Good samples; maybe too much screaming

2.6/5 Best Track: Night Train

Good live Album, James has great charisma and an iconic voice. Album is pretty repetitive which is main flaw. 7/10

Good

So this is where Janis Joplin got her singing inspiration from. What a soulful performance. The energy of the crowd is high and infectious. I don't love live albums so I can't go above 3 stars on this one.

It’s ok, not a huge fan of live albums

James Brown is incredibly talented. The band is tight. This is no doubt the very top tier of pre-Beatles music. The recording lets down the music here. Not really bangers either but very very solid, short, tight performance 7.6/10

James Brown puts everything on the stage and I'm sure this was a fantastic show to be in the crowd for. Live albums can range wildly in quality and this one sounds pretty good all things considered. The other part with live albums is they have a greater opportunity for appreciation when the listener is familiar with the material to pick out the special parts. I liked the album pretty well, but I know there is better James Brown out there. It also got a bit screamy from the crowd towards the end.. Favorite track: "Think" 2.5/5

I'd hoped to enjoy this more. Loved the band, but besides a couple of bright spots I found this just okay.

a solid live album. 3 stars.

A short and sweet little live LP. The flattened production mutes some of the vibrancy a bit, but it’s a testament to James Brown’s stage presence that this album keeps rolling along at a clip regardless. Some fun crowd interaction here as well, feels organic and genuine unlike some other live LPs that have cropped up on the list.

Solid album with fun songs.

Didn’t love this but let’s facet, that’s largely on me. I mean, the guy was the inspiration for Prince!

All the cheering and squealing in between songs made me smile. Experiencing live music is such a universal thrill. Hearing that must've been my favorite bit of the album, because although this is James Brown, the music or these performances weren't that impressive. I'm not a huge fan of live albums in the first place, but even I can admit that there are some amazing ones out there - Sam Cooke and Johnny Cash are just some of them. This record was fun and upbeat, but not... that.. amazing. There are better live albums for sure. Standout track is Try Me.

6/10

Out of respect for James Brown and what he brought to music I give this a 3, but my enjoyment was closer to 2. Not really a fan of live albums, and I couldn’t really pick a specific song from the album that I would return to - especially not in the live format. I do like the album cover with the abstract watercolor painting vibes. No comment on the album name.

This is James Brown. Not sure what else to say. He’s better when he’s singing, not screaming, but that’s his schtick.

It was good. Very pleasant for background music while cleaning.

boring asf

Must be before he found out about cocaine.

groovy

That is a crazy list of accolades. The fact that it's a live album from the 60s makes the audio quality pretty bad, and the screaming is just ugh. You can feel James Brown's energy, and it's crazy that this is such an early album. Overall didn't wow me though, 3*.

The music itself is great and has incredible energy througout. But the quality of the recording (even if it's early 60s) and the constant screaming of the crowd and other background noises distract me a lot from the music itself. 5 for the music, 3 for the album itself.

Mein erstes James Brown Album (live). Super funky und stimmungsvolles live Album. Überraschend kurz. Kurzweilig, aber ob ich es nochmal höre...

Zeer funky albumpje, James Brown wordt niet voor niets the Godfather of Soul genoemd. Maar toch luister ik dit niet zo snel nog een keer, is meer muziek waar je live bij wilt zijn. Wel meer dan 60 jaar oud, heel ziek

Opzich wel leuke funky soul-muziek. Ik zie m’n oma al helemaal staan daar in de jaren 60. En zo te horen aan die gillende dames, wist James de vrouwen ook wel om z’n vinger te winden

Very good but not my kind of music

R&B, soul.

Pretty good album. Jazzy and funky. Nothing more to add.

It's OK!

Good performance. But not my style.

For James Brown it felt really dry. I didn't sit there hating on any of the tracks but it felt weirdly short for a live album and the whole time felt like it was build up to a really good song which never really came. Just ended up feeling underwhelming and not really having much to it.

Brief funky jams tight as dovetails joints

I'm a fan of Mr Brown but i dont think this captured him at his best. I'm sure he was spectacular live but it doesn't come across in this

no me parece tan especial

6/10 Decent but honestly a little throwaway. Slightly surprised this is in top 1000 let alone considered to potentially be the best live album ever and top 100 of all time But it sounded great, tight band and he was driving the crowd feral at times Great voice, great backing singers More straight R&R/R&B than I was expecting - not so much funk (too early?) Best: I Don’t Mind

Instrumentals were great, the songs were good. I’m preferential to later James Brown, this was cool but mostly ballads.

Funky, but with more mellow tracks that I would’ve guessed from the Hardest Working Man in Show Business.

It was good, lots of energy and you can tell they were having fun.

Muchísimo ritmo. 3/5.

I’m sure he was an amazing performer but live records on this list just grind my gears. [0131/1001]

You know, I'm kind of surprised to get another live album just a little over a week after the last one I got. Fortunately, not only I do respect James Brown more than Jerry Lee Lewis as a person (although, unfortunately, he wasn't perfect either), I also liked Live At The Apollo more. This album isn't really special to me, but it's at least decent. James Brown was a really good singer. His screams are undeniably iconic and would justify him having multiple albums on this list, if he had more than one album on here. Apparently this is his only album that's on here. That doesn't seem right. Anyways, the writing is fairly basic, but that's to be expected of early 60s music. My biggest problem with this album is the mixing. I can only hear the singing in my right ear. That's a problem. This also doesn't really feel like a live album. A live album should really make you feel like you're there at the performance. This is just kind of music that is being played. Overall, not the most interesting album, but not particularly bad either. Light 3/5.

Would be so much better if it wasn’t a live album by him

I don't listen to live albums.

I never really "got" James Brown but this album drips with hard work.

I think it would have been crazy to see James brown at his level of career. But as far as the album goes, nothing better than a good horn section, but my take away was that the album wasn’t mixed very well. Had vocals only on one side

Good

Another live performance. Johnny cashes one was way better tho

I enjoyed this. Never really listened to him much and didn’t expect this. I was thinking it was all the upbeat stuff. Pleasant surprise. Would I come back? Not sure. I’ll stretch at three.

Like James. Do not like this album.

James Brown has always been one of those weird success stories to me, where I don't fully understand the timeline of how he got to be the greatest soul entertainer of all time. I'm not disputing the man's talent. He's marvelous, but I don't know one full album by him that's not a compilation of pre-written blues songs with a single or two thrown in the mix, and having listened to this record, without reading about it, I'd have no idea if this was in his early or later career. Anyway, yeah this is objectively great. Brown's unmatched vocal style is on full display on virtually every track. But boy I'd much rather watch the recorded show than just listen to it. This alone really isn't my bag.

Although iconic, I prefer Brown's funk pioneering to his early blues- and gospel-inspired work; it almost feels like a disservice to The Hardest Working Man In Show Business to merely listen to his legendary stage presence without actually seeing it happen.

I love jazz

Not bad, I liked some of the songs.

Good party mood

I had my hopes maybe too high for this album. But at the end of the quick 30 minutes, I found myself sort of without many thoughts at all. It's a shame, because I can't really find a fault with the album. The live performances are incredibly clean and tight, and the audience adds to the record more often than it doesn't. But off paper, it didn't do much for me. Will have to come back to it at a later date to see if I'm feeling it more. Highlight: Think Lowlight: I Don't Mind

Really liked this performance, though I wasn’t familiar with these particular songs. He has such great energy and this feels like getting transported back in time. Quality soul for the soul. The audio recording is great too.

Passte zu meiner Laune, aber ich bin nicht R&B

A lot of energy for sure

Novelty use of stereo. Music on left, all vocals on right.

This was a fun jazz album to listen to. He’s very engaging with the crowd Top tracks: Lost Someone

Eh

Okay

Man's got a killer voice, this album in particular just didn't do it for me. Will check out more James Brown tho

He’s so horny for screaming girls

Some pretty great instrumentals in here despite the majority of their short runtimes, and it fulfils the purpose of a live album pretty well, with lively and significant the occasion feels. Vocally and lyrically, however, I must admit I'm not at all moved by this

It's fine. It's just a live album from the 60s. Nothing too crazy was happening here.

not my music

The songs that are good are really good. I like the energy.

Didddiddyy

High intensity soul

Plaat bomvol energie, puur sonisch niet hoogste kwaliteit, maar wat een vreugde. Een hele week lang zelf de apollo afgehuurd, 20 shows gespeeld om de beste takes op plaat te krijgen. Vooral fan van het einde, die 11 minuten ballad en dan de medley daarna. Maar 't begin vliegt even goed voorbij. Niet echt "hits", maar een goeie totaaltrip.

B- Introduction to James Brown and The Famous Flames (by Fats Gonder) 3 I'll Go Crazy 3 Try Me 3 Think 3 I Don't Mind 4 Lost Someone 3 Medley: Please, Please, Please/You've Got the Power/I Found Someone/Why Do You Do Me/I Want You So Bad/I Love You, Yes I Do/Strange Things Happen/Bewildered/Please, Please, Please 3 Night Train 3 This was pretty good, but it didn't knock my socks off.

Great for listening in the kitchen

It's great, but the LP has too many very short tracks. Wish it went deeper

This was a fun album, seems like James Brown was having a really great time and the crowd was loving him. I like when soul/gospel gets funky and I think this was a little too early for that. 3 stars.

Honestly didn’t care for this.

James Brown sure is cool. I've read that he doesn't really got that many good albums but legendary tracks here and there within his discography. I didn't like this live album as I have a general dislike for live albums. There are a few ones that are great and this is not one of them.

Close to a 4, would be if it wasn't live but loses some of its appeal

It's a vibe but then I can't distinct any of the songs from each other

A great live record showcasing JB as a rockstar. Wasn’t familiar with any of the songs, and I prefer JB’s eventual pathway to funk music, but a great listen still. 3.5/5 Would listen again

God damn, the audience is going mental. It was fun to hear them screaming (don't take that out of context) and interacting with the performances. This is not a genre I listen to and I probably won't return to it, but I still got more enjoyment out of it than I expected.

I'm usually not a big fan of live albums and this one was no exception to that. There's no denying James Brown's legendary status but I would much rather listen to a studio album of his than a live album. I can do without the rabid fans cheering constantly.

A bit much screaming. 3

Twas ok

Nothing special. Sounds like James Brown. Probably a little shocking for the time.

Early James Brown. Not bad, gives the JB vibe but nothing really iconic on this record.

Fav song: think

Good music, love his crowd work

Just James brown live,he’s got a great voice and you can feel the energy but I didn’t really love it.

Very raw live performance from an iconic performer at an iconic venue.

Boring

Was quite slow

While most of the songs don't blow me away, they sure blew away the audience. Brown and the crowd both feed off each other's energy an amazing way. Worth listening to just for the relationship between the performer and fans.

Hard to review an album that is 60 years old Pretty mid now but at the time it was probably the bees knees

Jazzy

Blind album, know the artist by name. It was a fun album at times and a good listen. Fun, exciting, great dynamics as well. Wasn't my favorite but decent and I really liked the last few tracks I'd say.

Tosi nopeetemponen mut kivan yhtenäinen. Ei paljoo tuu välispiikkejä kun biisit vaa viuhuu :D Lopussa sit hidastuu huomattavasti. Sit en ehkä jaksanu nii kuunnella enää.

cool

Not as good as I was expecting

It's okay, but rather boring

Interesting album of some early James and the magic is still there. The bit where he’s away from the mic singing “I’m weak” before coming back is awesome (3.5/5)

Great early set by James Brown. You hve to love hearing interactions with the crowd though.

People yelling at a concert.

Fun!!!! Some really amazing songs but I was thrown by a minute album having a 10 minute tune on it.

Don’t know much of James Browns work before he became a sex machine. So I quite enjoyed listening to this early version of him. Great voice and arrangements. Liked it 👍

Like it!

Not bad. Put it on at a party