James Brown - Soul Pride: The Instrumentals 1960-1969 [2CD Set] (1993)

In the '60s, James's instrumental recordings--both as bandleader and occasional organist, pianist and drummer--all but constituted a second disc career for the Hardest Working Man in Show Business. It was a career that gave him the odd hit single--"The Popcorn," "Ain't It Funky Now"- -but mainly allowed him to fill out LPs with tight band workouts and ultra-hip mood music. Soul Pride brings the word, as it were, from a succession of great lineups, bearing witness as the music evolves from early-'60s remembrances of jump blues through soul jazz and the full-on funk. The usual fascinating liner notes by compilation producers Harry Weinger and Alan Leeds complement the music. --Rickey Wright