The J.B.'s recorded under various billings in the early '70s, including
the J.B.'s, Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s, Maceo & the Macks, the
First Family, the Last Word, and others. This double CD gathers 30 of
the prime tracks by all of the above configurations from the first half
of the '70s, including all nine of their chart hits and quite a few rare
singles and long versions. Often, James Brown himself chips in with
incidental vocals (though this is mostly instrumental) and keyboards.
The two-and-a-half-hour program can start to sound monotonous if taken
all at once, but it's prime, often riveting funk, jammed with lockstep
grooves that vary between basic R&B vamps and imaginative, almost
jazzy improvisation.
James Brown (vocals, organ, synthesizer, drums); Lyn Collins, Vicki
Anderson (vocals); Phelps "Catfish" Collins, Hearlon "Cheese" Martin,
Jimmy Nolen (guitar); Jimmy Parker (alto saxophone); Maceo Parker (alto
saxophone, flute); St. Clair Pinckney (tenor saxophone); Darryl "Hasaan"
Jamison, Jerone "Jasaan" Sanford, Russell Crimes, Isaiah "Ike" Oakley
(trumpet); Fred Wesley (trombone, vocals); Bobby Byrd (piano); Dave
Matthews (electric piano, organ); William "Bootsy" Collins, Fred Thomas
(bass); John "Jabo" Starks (drums); Johnny Griggs (congas).
