Bold Statement
It's is against my nature and better judgement to say something like this but, given the caliber of record that is "James Brown Live at the Apollo", I have to say that I feel it is the greatest live album...ever.

Of course we are discussing a pivotal musical figure and a very distinct style of music- but I think anybody that cares about music would be impacted by this amazing album.

More than just an album, it is an incredible document of something very beautiful in the culture of soul music at this time. Listening to this album time and time again over the years has made me fall in love with the audience as much as I have the music.

I can't reccommend this album enough.

Live At The Apollo
James Brown-Live At The Apollo ****

First I just want to say that James Brown has had better albums, and better live albums as well. I can see why Live At The Apollo receives such high acclaim but for me personally I don't enjoy it as much as most. I love live albums, getting to hear what a legend you may have never seen live is amazing.

Live At The Apollo does not live up to what I always imagined James Brown being like. For one sometimes during the album the lyrics are not that audible, like on 'Think' for example. This is one of his all time great tracks and I don't feel that during this performance he did the song justice. Other performances were better and more memorable. Brown also seems to be out of breath a lot during the performance as well which I know he was a machine on stage but still he was very young during this performance and on later live albums he seems to have held up better.

There are some very good things about the album though. For example the medley during the middle of the album is amazing. Easily the best performance on the album, not a weak point in the long jam. Also James' backing band here is breath taking. This may be the very best his bands have ever sounded live, it is too bad I can't say the same about Brown himself. Lastly for an early performance this is a great set of songs.

What is really cool about Live At The Apollo is that it wasn't supposed to happen. His manager told him not to do it and didn't support him so Brown recorded the whole performance himself. While I'm not saying this is a bad live album, because it really isn't, all I am saying is that Brown has released better, much, much better.

LIVE AT THE APOLLO
THIS IS ONE GREAT LIVE ALBUM. IN FACT, IT IS ONE OF THE FIRST LIVE ALBUMS EVER PRODUCED (BY JAMES BROWN WITH $5000 THAT HE BORROWED) THAT SOLD REALLY WELL. IT REALLY GIVES YOU A FEEL FOR THE LIVE ROAD SHOW OF JAMES BROWN AND THE FAMOUS FLAMES. IF YOU LOVE R&B, SOUL OR BLUES, YOU WILL LOVE THIS ALBUM. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT CLAIMS THAT THIS IS THE GREATEST LIVE ALBUM EVER, THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT ONES I CAN THINK OF, BUT IS ONE GREAT RECORDIING. THIS CD ALSO LINCLUDES FOUR BONUS TRACKS AS WELL.

WHAT MORE CAN BE SAID!!!
WHAT MORE CAN BE SAID about such a GREAT ALBUM that has not already been said??

Mr. Dynamite goes to Harlem
With the passing of James Brown at the end of 2006, the lost one of its most its most powerful musical fores, a sweat-soaked juggernaut of white-hot passion and burning soul. For proof of that, consult this very album. Recorded late in 1962, when Brown was still a relative lightweight (commercially speaking), Live at the Apollo is a sizzling slice of raw soul, collection of breathless R&B stompers and heart-shredding ballads that put the Godfather on the musical map long before he got around to inventing funk.

The album captures Brown hooting, hollering, crooning, screaming, and tearing his way thorugh a setlist that hits the highlighs of his early career. He attacks the songs with a seemingly endless supply of energy and ferocity- At one point, he sings a medley of something like nine songs in just over six minutes! It's somewhat hard to believe that his band could even keep up with him, but- okay, actually it's not. They're awesome- their raw, slashing guitars, smooth horns, and tight backing vocals drive Brown on, pushing him to new heights of fantabulousness with every passing note. Combine that with the sounds of a rapt audience (James Brown always got the best audiences), and you've got a platter of can't-fail musical explosiveness. The afformentioned medley is only one of the deliciously crazy tracks here: there's also "Night Train," in whih Brown manages to sound absolutely electric, even though he's doing nothing but listing the names of cities. "I'll Go Crazy" and "I Don't Mind" comes ripping out of the gates with gutteral guitars and dizzying vocal acrobatis, while "Think" sees the star of the show making chop suey out of the English language. Delicious, delicious chop suey. And when Brown slows things down, it's only to rip your heart out with a ballad- "Try Me" is instant gratification, and the epic version of "Lost Someone" (over ten minutes) is simply gorgeous, a soul-shreddingly cathartic bit of group therapy (again, listen to that audience!) disgued as a song.

So......... get it! Play it! Live the 'xperience!