Funk fans are gonna freak when they catch wind of this. In 1970 James Brown perfectly captured a definitive moment in modern music when he called Bootsy Collins into the studio to record the tracks that would be These Are The J.B.’s, a title given to a King Records test-press LP that was never released, and only rumoured to exist. As Rappcats put it, “this album is the epitome of funk music, Brown’s innovation that influenced everything that came after it, from Afro-beat to disco to hip-hop”. This is the first commercial issue of this album, overseen by Now-Again Records’ Eothen “Egon” Alapatt alongside Leeds and Universal Music Group’s James Brown expert Harry Weinger. It was mastered specifically for vinyl by Elysian Masters’ Dave Cooley, from the original two-track stereo master that James Brown and his engineer Ron Lenhoff delivered to production forty-four years ago. It’s packaged in Stoughton jacket, with a booklet featuring liner notes by Leeds and Alapatt and unpublished photographs. A limited pressing of 3000 pieces will release on November 28th – you can pre-order here.
The J.B.’s – These Are The J.B.’s
