Name: Soul on Top (Verve By Request Series)
Brand: James Brown

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

4599159

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Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

180 Gram Vinyl. Housed in Gatefold Sleeve.

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Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2023-01-13

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Universal

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

0602445991594

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

James Brown

Genre GB

Funk / Soul

Label GB

Verve

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.

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.

In the liner notes to this grooving 1969 album, featuring a big band led by drummer Louis Bellson and arranged by Impulse! star Oliver Nelson, the Godfather of Soul explains that he is a “jazz man at heart.” Brown’s soul consigliere, saxophonist Maceo Parker, helps make this a swinging, spirited and satisfying set of standards and JB hits.

Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit.