CoronaVinyl Day 120 ('60s Live Album): Live and Lowdown at The Apollo, Vol. 1 by James Brown

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Over the next six CoronaVinyl days, I'm going to listen to a live album from each decade, starting today with the '60s.  And just so we're clear, I'm going with the date of the live recordings, not necessarily the date of release, so if a show recorded in 1977 wasn't released until 1996, I consider that from the '70s, not the '90s.

Today's selection is considered one of the best live albums ever -- and one of the best albums ever, period -- James Brown's Live at The Apollo.  Recorded in October 1962 at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater, and released in May 1963, this album showcases The Hardest Working Man in Show Business when he was still making a name for himself.  Brown was known for his amazing stage shows and stage persona, and it's hard to capture that on audio only, but this album does a pretty good job.  The band is tight.  Brown is on fire.  The crowd is going nuts.

The version I have is one of many reissues, but it's presented "in its original form."  What's crazy about this album is that, until its release, Brown had not had an album that charted on either the general Billboard album chart or the Billboard R&B album chart, and only three of his songs had reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, though had nearly 20 Top 40 hits on the Billboard R&B chart (including 8 Top 10 and one #1).  But it was this album that broke him out and crossed him over.  It went to #2 on the Billboard album chart, and it remained on the album chart for 66 weeks.  After this album, James Brown became the huge star we know him to be.

Another interesting historical tidbit.  The tracks on the album aren't indexed, which led to delays in getting it onto CD until 1990 because the master tape couldn't be located and it couldn't be searched in whatever database it was supposed to be in.  By a happy accident, the masters were located, and the album was put on CD.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Think"
Not to be confused with the Aretha Franklin song of the same name several years later, this song is a fast-paced, foot-stomping R&B song that clocks in at under two minutes.  It's almost like punk soul.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Night Train"
Not to be confused with the Guns N' Roses song "Nightrain" release 25 years later, this one is another frenetic soul offering, with some call-and-response action and music that sounds like a train thundering along in the night.