James Brown remasters?

I have only the original U.S. Polydor pressing so nothing to compare it to.

 

Hi does the original sound good. I have seen a original US polydor record club pressing going and wondered if that was worth the risk.

 

You understate the problem, if in fact you are aware of it. I was a big fan at the time, so I bought every King album. EVEN IF YOU WANT ALL THE MATERIALt
these albums are undesirable. The programs make no sense. I found them unlistenable. I reconfigured the material in a more sensible way on little tapes for my car
It's true the situation became a little better as the sixties came to a close but I found the great preponderance of sixties albums useless in my opinion even if you like 3/4 of the material on them.

 

CD releases from last September's Rare Groove/Funk Best Collection 1000 series from Japan:

UICY-76581 - Sex Machine
UICY-76582 - Ain't It Funky
UICY-76583 - It's A New Day
UICY-76584 - Revolution of the Mind
UICY-76585 - Hot Pants
UICY-76586 - Super Bad
UICY-76587 - There It Is
UICY-76588 - Slaughter's Big Rip-Off
UICY-76589 - The Payback
UICY-76590 - Get Up Offa That Thing
UICY-76591 - Bodyheat
UICY-76592 - In the Jungle Groove
UICY-76593 - The JB's - Food for Thought
UICY-76594 - The JB's -Doing It to Death
UICY-76595 - The JB's - Damn Right I Am Somebody
UICY-76596 - The JB's - Breakin' Bread
UICY-76597 - The JB's - Hustle with Speed
UICY-76598 - Maceo - Us
UICY-76599 - Lyn Collins - Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me By Now
UICY-76600 - Marva Whitney - It's My Thing
UICY-76601 - The JB's - Jam II Disco Fever

 

That's the one. In my post it reads "Mastered at Sterling from the original analog tapes." I don't know what equipment was used to master this, but it does sound great!

 

I own everything he recorded in some form or another. Most of the King albums and some of the Polydor albums are singles plus filler or at least attempts at other musical styles. Consequently, if every LP were released on CD, I'm not sure how many copies would sell. The digital downloads from iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, the Pono store, etc. may be all we're ever going to get terms of complete albums except for whatever is reissued in Japan.

Star Time, In the Jungle Groove, Motherlode, Foundations of Funk, Funk Power 1970, Make It Funky, Dead on the Heavy Funk, and Soul Pride were attempts to make the classic recordings available, but the coverage can be confusing to newer fans, and you still need the first three Apollo albums, Say It Live and Loud, Sex Machine, Love Power Peace, The Payback, Funky Good Time, and an as-yet unavailable and unplanned compilation of his best music from the final two decades (1983-2002). That's before you even get into Bobby Byrd, Marva Whitney, Vicki Anderson, Lyn Collins, etc. (Original Funky Divas and the 3 volumes of Funky People are a start in that direction).

 

Sorry, my copy is in storage right now, but I remember it as sounding good, unlike the King LP's.

 

I kind of enjoy hearing different versions of some of these classics . . . and I think the sound quality is very good, as well.

 

Has anyone heard the Get On Up soundtrack vinyl release yet. I only played snippets on iTunes so sounds loud

 

well yes it does! It arrived on Valentines day. Heavy vinyl, label off-centre but LP tracks are not, most important the sound quality is exemplary. Completely silent vinyl, not a single pop or crackle, and beautiful sound. Don't hesitate. I'll be getting The Payback too.

 

Too sad to mention that all these CDs are OOP by now

 

CD of JB (Sex Machine & Other Soul Classics)
CD of JB II (Cold Sweat and Other Soul Classics)
James Brown Live at the Apollo, 1962

I have these 3 and I'll pick up the next two Apollo CDs eventually. Should Star Time be of interest to me?

 

Star Time is great but not perfect. It was well-chosen by Cliff White and Harry Weinger, covering 1956-1984, Please Please Please to Unity. When released, it included some unreleased tracks.

It's still the only source for Papa's Got A Brand New Bag Parts 1-3, which was sped up and edited for the hit Part 1 (also included). Talkin' Loud is a 9 minute version, a different mix than the one on In the Jungle Groove and not as long as the complete recording on Funk Power 1970.

Also includes full length recordings of Money Won't Change You, Cold Sweat, Get It Together, Licking Stick, I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (the full length recording showed up on Foundation of Funk), Mother Popcorn, Funky Drummer, and Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved. It has Parts 1 and 2 for Super Bad and Soul Power but only Part 1 for I Can't Stand Myself, Hot Pants, Greedy Man, Make It Funky, Ants in My Pants, Papa Don't Take No Mess, and Stone to the Bone, and the 5 minute version of Doing It to Death.

The red cover is the original, the other a 2007 release that may be easier to find or cheaper in Europe. It shows up on Amazon UK and eBay, but I don't own it and don't know whether it's just a straight repackaging.

 

I found a 1991 Star Time set on eBay with the US PDO pressed discs, which I prefer for some reason. Turns out that the discs are strong Exc condition and the booklet and box are solid VG. Good enough for $35 shipped, which should be roughly the value of a sealed example. I think there's one or more mono mixes that aren't on CD of JB (Sex Machine & Other Soul Classics) or CD of JB II (Cold Sweat and Other Soul Classics). I really enjoyed Papa's Got A Brand New Bag Parts 1-3, which is a more dry mix than other selections on disc 1. The mastering work overall is satisfactory, but I didn't compare to CD of JB. Drake was involved but doesn't have the mastering credit. I'll spin the other 3 soon enough.

I'd really like to have these recordings in hi-res (Hybrid SACD) mastered from the best sources by Gray or Hoffman, etc.

 

There are a number of differences on Star Time compared to CD of JB I and II, mostly mono vs stereo mixes or Parts 1 and 2 vs. Part 1 only.

 

Universal Japan is re-releasing 47 (forty-seven) JB and related albums on May 13th, 2015.
Here's the list at CDJapan (also contains some other good funk albums, as the series go beyond JB):

JB & FUNK 1000 BEST COLLECTION

I'm looking forward to get finally It's A Mother and The Popcorn CDs.

 

No mastering details. Would be nice to have some SHM-SACDs mastered from the US analog tapes.

 

I expect straight reissues of the previously released CDs (same as they did in September 2014).

 

How were those CDs packaged? Jewel cases? Mini-LP replicas?
I'm wondering if the re-reissues coming in May will be packaged the same?

 

The fall 2014 CD's were barebones, budget-line reissues, plain label, jewel box...judging from the prices posted for the May 2015 reissues, I would expect them to be the same (some of them are labeled low price version). A slight side issue, but probably of interest to many on this thread, the Japan low budget Parliament reissues also announced are also low-budget; those that were released in the fall eschewed the bonus tracks and the nice packaging that accompanied the reissues from a few years earlier.

 

Here's a list I compiled of the 2014 and 2015 series, including cat. #'s of previous Japanese CD releases where applicable. The 2003 and 2007 CD's were in mini-LP packaging but also more expensive than 1000 yen each (just over $8).

From cursory comparisons I've made, the Japanese masterings have not changed. Does anyone know otherwise?

From RARE GROOVE/FUNK BEST COLLECTION 1000 (2014) and to be reissued as part of JB & FUNK 1000 BEST COLLECTION (2015):

UICY-76581 - Sex Machine (UICY-9293, 2003)
UICY-76582 - Ain't It Funky (UICY-93289, 2007)
UICY-76583 - It's A New Day (UICY-93290, 2007)
UICY-76584 - Revolution of the Mind
UICY-76585 - Hot Pants
UICY-76586 - Super Bad (UICY-93291, 2007)
UICY-76587 - There It Is
UICY-76588 - Slaughter's Big Rip-Off
UICY-76589 - The Payback
UICY-76590 - Get Up Offa That Thing (UICY-93292, 2007)
UICY-76591 - Bodyheat (UICY-93293, 2007)
UICY-76592 - In the Jungle Groove
UICY-76593 - The JB's - Food for Thought
UICY-76594 - The JB's -Doing It to Death
UICY-76595 - The JB's - Damn Right I Am Somebody
UICY-76596 - The JB's - Breakin' Bread
UICY-76597 - The JB's - Hustle with Speed
UICY-76598 - Maceo - Us
UICY-76599 - Lyn Collins - Check Me Out If You Don't Know Me By Now
UICY-76600 - Marva Whitney - It's My Thing
UICY-76601 - The JB's - Jam II Disco Fever

JB & FUNK 1000 BEST COLLECTION (2015):

UICY-77123 - Please, Please, Please (UICY-9279, 2003)
UICY-77124 - Try Me (UICY-9280, 2003)
UICY-77125 - Think! (UICY-9281, 2003)
UICY-77126 - The Amazing James Brown (UICY-9282, 2003)
UICY-77127 - Tour the USA (UICY-93285, 2007)
UICY-77128 - Prisoner of Love (UICY-93284, 2007)
UICY-77129 - Live at the Apollo (UICY-9283, 2003)
UICY-77130 - Pure Dynamite (Live at the Royal) (UICY-9284, 2003)
UICY-77131 - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag (UICY-9285, 2003)
UICY-77132 - I Got You (UICY-9286, 2003)
UICY-77133 - Live at the Garden (UICY-93286, 2007)
UICY-77134 - It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World (UICY-9287, 2003)
UICY-77135 - Raw Soul (UICY-9288, 2003)
UICY-77136 - Cold Sweat (UICY-9289, 2003)
UICY-77137 - Live at the Apollo Vol. 2
UICY-77138 - I Can't Stand Myself (UICY-9290, 2003)
UICY-77139 - I Got the Feelin' (UICY-9291, 2003)
UICY-77140 - It's A Mother (UICY-93288, 2007)
UICY-77141 - Say It Loud I'm Black and I'm Proud (UICY-9292, 2003)
UICY-77142 - The Popcorn (UICY-93287, 2007)
UICY-77143 - Black Caesar
UICY-77144 - Hell
UICY-77145 - Live ... Hot On the One
UICY-77146 - Motherlode
UICY-77147 - Love, Power, Peace at the Olympia
UICY-77148 - Bobby Byrd - I Need Help
UICY-77149 - Bobby Byrd - Hot Pants I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming
UICY-77150 - Bobby Byrd - Bobby Byrd Got Soul: The Best of Bobby Byrd

 

Added some missing cat. no's:

Do not forget this CD was released as part of [Free Soul Collection 1000] (2014):
UICY-76200 - Lyn Collins - Think (about it) (UICY-9316, 2003)

 

Can I ask where you got this one from? It's the first I've heard about it and I can't find it in stock anywhere on this side of the pond aside from Juno who want £40 for it!

 

Are some of the tracks on Motherlode and In A Jungle Groove modern remixes?

 

If you mean "modern" in the sense that they have added synthetic drums and keyboards, then no.