Name: Soul On Top
Brand: James Brown

Tax rate EU

Default:19

Supplier EU

Universal Music GmbH

Total Cap

Format detail

Verve By Request

Colour details

Discogs ID

Limited edition

Colour

Format Music EU

Extended format

Extended format: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Download code

Download code: No

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Release date

2023-01-13

Format multiplier

Catalogue number

4599159

UPC / Barcode

602445991594

Artist

James Brown

Label EU

Verve

Genre EU

Verve Records, also known as Verve, is a multinational record label that was founded in 1956 by jazz impresario Norman Granz. The label originated from the consolidation of Granz's earlier labels, Norgran Records and Clef Records. In 1960, Verve was sold to MGM Records and became a subsidiary of the company. Throughout the 1960s, Verve expanded its music genres to include comedy, pop, R&B, rock, and folk music.

During this time, Verve had successful jazz recordings from artists such as Stan Getz, Kai Winding, Astrud Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, and Jimmy Smith under the direction of Creed Taylor. In 1972, MGM sold its record division to Polydor which brought Verve into the newly formed PolyGram family of record labels. As a result of this transition, Verve focused primarily on jazz reissues while other non-jazz releases were absorbed into Polydor.

In the late 1980s, PolyGram decided to revive Verve with both reissue programs and new artist signings. This revitalization led to strong sales for both new material and remastered classic recordings. With the merger of PolyGram and Vivendi Universal in 1999 creating Universal Music Group (UMG), Verve Records became part of The Verve Music Group alongside other influential labels such as Blue Note Records and Impulse! Records.

James Brown was an American singer, songwriter, arranger, and dancer, who was one of the most important and influential entertainers in 20th-century&nbsp;popular music&nbsp;and whose remarkable achievements earned him the honorific nickname “the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business.”

Brown began his career as a&nbsp;gospel&nbsp;singer and rose to prominence in the mid-1950s, building&nbsp;a reputation as a dynamic live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World".

During the late 1960s, Brown moved to a new approach to music-making, emphasising stripped-down interlocking rhythms that influenced the development of funk music. By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound with records such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "The Payback". He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud". Brown continued to perform and record until his death in 2006.

Motherlode is a classic James Brown compilation album, primarily focusing on his funk recordings of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and including live performances and remixes as well as studio recordings. This is the first vinyl edition of the 2003 expanded version of Motherlode, a 2-LP on 180 Gram in a gatefold jacket, featuring a number of tracks never before available on LP. Highlights include a live Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud, I Got Ants in My Pants (and I Want to Dance), the chart hit She’s the One, and more.

Soul On Top

Music EU