#65 James Brown, 'Live at the Apollo' (1963)

Previously #25

James Brown was noted as one of the greatest live performers of all time. Thousands of artists, including Michael Jackson, based their own live performances off of his. A showman like no other, Brown was at his best on stage and there’s no better stage in the world than the one at The Apollo in Harlem, New York. Every music fan should experience a show there at least once. A close second to that, is this album. It feels as if there’re there. You can almost see sweat pouring through the speakers. The crowd is electric and Brown’s band, The Famous Flames is as tight as they come.

Recorded on 24 October 1962, Brown self-funded this live recording. His label, King Records, was opposed to releasing it as they felt that a live album with no new songs would bomb. Brown and his manager manager to convince them otherwise and the result was 66 weeks on the Billboard charts, peaking at #2. In fact, the demand was so great that record stores on the South East of the US had to order multiple cases at a time. This record is brilliant. It’s a masterclass in live performance. Brown’s voice is incredible, but it’s his band the really carry the performance. At only 10 songs and 31 minutes long, it’s short, sharp and to the point. And the point is that James Brown is one of the all-time greatest, and don’t you forget that.

#rs500albums