James Brown’s announcement in June 1968 that he was embarking on a USO tour of war-ravaged Vietnam didn’t go down too well with the revolutionary politics of the then increasingly-influential Black Panthers, who believed the Godfather was selling his soul to The Man. To make matters worse, Brown’s Vietnam gig came on the back of the release of the overtly-patriotic America Is My Home, included on this 43-track set, and a single which went against the grain of what most black communities thought and felt about their troubled homeland at that time.
If Brown seemed out-of-touch with his fellow African-Americans, a backstage visit by the Panthers, who persuaded him to ditch his process hairdo for an Afro, gave him a reality check. By August ’68, Brown had actually become a focal point for African-American protest when he unleashed the brilliant proto rap-funk number, Say It Loud – I’m Black & I’m Proud, just one of many highlights on this tremendously absorbing collection of late 60s singles. Packed with seismic chunks of classic funk (I Can’t Stand Myself, There Was A Time, Licking Stick and Soul Pride), it also includes rare B-sides, Christmas songs, soulful ballads, funky instrumentals and a blistering duet with Marva Whitney. Sensational stuff.
