A Brand New Soul

 

James Brown (with Oliver Nelson Conducting Louie Bellson Orchestra) - Soul On Top [KS 1100 USA 2023 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC]

The widely anticipated remaster of James Brown's Soul On Top big band album was delayed until earlier this year when originally scheduled for the pre-Christmas market. We don't know the reason for this, perhaps a capacity issue at Third Man Pressing, perhaps somebody didn't like the test pressings, however we do know that somebody wanted the album re-mixed before it was sent to Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sounds to be cut. Why did it have to be re-mixed ....we know that Universal Music move in mysterious ways, so we will never know. 

This record was filthy when I removed it from the shrink and out of its cheap paper inner. That was a huge disappointment and likely due to careless cost-cutting at the label, who must have gone to some expense with a RKS cut. Thankfully it did clean up well for this rip.

There have been a few stories peddled around the net, most emanating from a review on Michael Fremer's Tracking Angle site that this new pressing is vastly inferior to the original. I don't have any comparison material to form my own opinion, but I really enjoyed this classic album of standards and  original JB numbers in the big band style.

A1 That's My Desire

A2 Your Cheating Heart

A3 What Kind Of Fool Am I

A4 It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World

A5 The Man In The Glass

B1 It's Magic

B2 September Song

B3 For Once In My Life

B4 Every Day I Have The Blues

B5 I Need Your Key (To Turn Me On)

B6 Papa's Got A Brand New Bag