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Live at the Apollo, Vol. II

by James Brown

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Thanks to the paradigm-shifting success of his first Live at the Apollo LP from 1963, James Brown and the famed Harlem theater were all but synonymous in the '60s. By the time Brown recorded there again in early summer of 1967, his music had undergone tremendous changes, as revolutionary for R&B as John Coltrane's sheets-of-sound approach was for jazz. This second Live at the Apollo caught Brown giving full stick to both his classic soul-ballad style and the funk his band was developing practically in front of the crowds' ears. Even better than previous issues is this terrifically remastered version. It adds nearly 25 minutes of previously edited tape, most significantly the pivotal "Let Yourself Go"/"There Was a Time"/"I Feel All Right" funk workout and an "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" that extends to a third of an hour here. The revisions add to the you-are-there feel of one of Brown's must-own albums, as do photos and credits that acknowledge everyone from stellar players like Maceo Parker and Clyde Stubblefield to the troupe's hairdresser and Learjet pilot. --Rickey Wright