The James Brown Show: Live At The Apollo

Hurts my soul to give a James Brown record this low of a rating. But it’s not indicative to the fire he was about to set a few years later and change everything. Classic James Brown energy, but the funk isn’t there yet.

The recording quality is just okay, and it shows the limitations of live recording technology in the early ’60s. Still, James Brown’s stage presence and energy are undeniable — this is an artist who truly had to be 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 to be fully appreciated. It’s a powerful snapshot of his early live magic, even if his later classics like 𝘚𝘦𝘹 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 were still years away.

Enjoyed it more when directly listening. Energy off the charts but got repetitive .

Enjoyable, but not particularly memorable. 3/5

I enjoyed this, but inevitably wont come back to it. Always nice to get a shorter album, doesn’t outstay its welcome.

As is often the case with this age of record switching to mono was a must.

I’ve never really ‘got’ James Brown but this album really captures the live energy well.

James Brown Live At The Apollo is an album that i have odd feelings towards. I did enjoy it but i feel like it is missing a few things to be truly great. For someone like James Brown, it really makes sense for him to have a live album on this list as he feels like one of those singers that really has a presence when performing that really suits being live. As for the show/album, it is enjoyable and had a lot of fun moments but my main issue is that a lot of the best moments on this album are simply too short and are unable to properly sink in most of the time. I still think its a really solid album but i don't think i can justify giving it any higher than 3 stars.
Best Song: Think
Worst Song: I Don't Mind

I love a good live album and this certainly fits that bill. Great energy and atmosphere. Favorite track: Night Train

The novelty wore off too quickly. This really is a time capsule, though. It was interesting to hear a crowd of fans from 1962 vibing along with one of the best vocalists ever. I wouldn't necessarily listen again, but glad I experienced this album. OH and that band was really good too.

Excellent.
The band is razor sharp. Mr Brown's charisma is off the scale and the crowd are totally into it.

This is so intense, so energetic, so tight, and so funky that I really don't know what band and performer could ever match it.
Obviously Brown is the standout piece of this, but the band is much better than could reasonably be expected in a hectic liveset.

Not a huge fan of his work but the production on this live album is soo clean and good. The people sound like theyre having a helluva time. Wish i could've been there fot it

I love me some James Brown. This was pretty great, and had a nice mix of four and five star songs, but doesn’t quite get to 5.

I prefer Sex Machine, and I don’t think it’s on this list for some reason.

James Brown might be best heard through Live recordings, if for no other reason then the crowd will let you know when you're missing a dance break. I have listened to Get Down With James Brown: Live At The Apollo Vol. IV (1972). James Brown does very little singing on that album, but presumably dances and otherwise entertains most of the time. I assumed this album would be similar, but that was incorrect. James Brown does a lot more singing on this album, and it certainly feels like a proper JB album.
This won't be a comparison of the two albums because they're very different and it wouldn't be fair. Listen to both.

If you're curious about the origins of Soul/Funk, this is a great place to start. I have no doubt that JB was an amazing entertainer in his day, and the Apollo was probably the best place to witness that. You really get the links to Rock'n'Roll and R&B, and some solid crooning (do we call it crooning in Soul?). Worth the listen.

Fantastic R&B and soul record. Just not a huge fan of it myself. I did recognize I Don't Mind though since it was on The Who's My Generation. Cool to hear the original.

For once I'm not gonna complain about a live album being on the list, but what I will say is, how come a lot of these old live albums are (I assume) heavily cut down from the original performance? I have a hard time believing Brown only played 30 minutes of material. Is it a "We only have so much space on the vinyl, so we picked the best tracks" situation?

Ends on an absolute banger.

Quite impressive that Brown funded this album all out of pocket. They certainly made an impression!

It’s what you’d expect.

Das Album fängt seine beeindruckende Bühnenpräsenz und die mitreißende Energie seines Publikums ein. Die *Famous Flames* liefern eine kraftvolle musikalische Begleitung, und Songs wie *Try Me* und *I’ll Go Crazy* zeigen seine emotionale Intensität.
Insgesamt ganz ok.

Upea keikka ja hyvä taltiointi! 4/5