Though James Brown claimed never to have liked the blues, he never forgot the singers and musicians that inspired him in the R&B eras. One result was an attempt to re-promote 50s organ star Bill Doggett – though, as Dean Rudland’s excellent sleevenotes to this reissue explain, Brown’s involvement was limited to adding his name to the project and producing two tunes, the title track and a remake of Doggett’s biggest hit, Honky Tonk (later cut by Brown himself, perhaps in tribute to Dick Emery). The rest of the tunes are Doggett and an anonymous band.
Those expecting anonymous R&B to match will be surprised by how funky much of this is: Corner Pocket, a terrific version of Edwin Starr’s 25 Miles and Make Your Move all dig a groove, while After Lunch is up with the best of Prestige’s funky jazz. It’s a Prestige artist of the same era whose work this most resembles: Rusty Bryant; and we’d swear he is blowing on Slippin’ In.
There are six bonus tracks, two of which feature Funkadelic alumni Eddie Hazell and Billy Nelson, though the dozen songs from the original album are plenty enough to make this worth your popcorn.
