Tracks:
I Don't Care
I'm Loney
Got No Excuse
Do You Really Want To Rescue Me Part 1
Lookie, Lookie, Lookie
If You Don't Work You Can't Eat
New Breed (The Boo-Ga-Loo) Part 1
That's When I Cry
Wide Awake in a Dream
Unexplainable
Devil's Den Part 1
It Hurts to Be in Love
That's The Sprit
Help Poor Me
Faith
Nobody Cares
I'll Keep Pressing On
I Found You
Soul Food Part 1 & 2
If You Don't Think
I Found Out
I Cried

Performer Notes:

• Personnel: James Brown (vocals, piano, organ, background vocals); Bobby Byrd (vocals, piano, background vocals); Sandra Bears, Grace Ruffin, Martha Harvin (vocals, background vocals); Dizzy Jones, Elsie Mae, Eugene "Gene" Tanner, James "Sugarboy" Crawford, Lowman Pauling, Obadiah "Scoop" Carter, Anna King, Tammy Montgomery, Vicki Anderson, Yvonne Fair (vocals); Alphonso "Country" Kellum, Les Buie, Jimmy Nolen, Wally Richardson (guitar); Nat Jones (alto saxophone, organ); Maceo Parker (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Eldee Williams, Al "Brisco" Clark, Alfred Ellis (tenor saxophone); Charles Carr, Haywood Henry (baritone saxophone); Levi Rasbury (trumpet, trombone, valve trombone); Joe Dupars, Robert Knight , Lewis Hamlin, Teddy Washington, Ron Tooley (trumpet); Wilmer Milton (trombone); Ernie Hayes (organ); Bernard Odum (electric bass); Melvin Parker, Clayton Fillyua, Jimmie Robinson, John Starks, Nat Kendrick, Panama Francis (drums).
• Liner Note Author: Dean Rudland.
• Recording information: Arthur Smith Studios, Charlotte, NC (01/08/1962-??/??/1966); Bell Sound Studios, New York, NY (01/08/1962-??/??/1966); Chicago, IL (01/08/1962-??/??/1966); Criteria Studios, Miami, FL (01/08/1962-??/??/1966); Dukoff Studios, Miami, FL (01/08/1962-??/??/1966); King Studios, Cincinnati, OH (01/08/1962-??/??/1966); Washington DC (01/08/1962-??/??/1966).
• Arrangers: Gene Redd; Nat Jones; Sammy Lowe.
• As prolific a recording artist as James Brown was in the 1960s, and as busy a touring machine as the one he led on the road was, he somehow found time to produce and work on numerous discs by other artists. The Godfather's R&B: James Brown's Productions 1962-67 has 22 such tracks, one of them (the 1966 single "New Breed [The Boo-Ga-Loo]") an instrumental actually credited to Brown himself, though the others are billed to other performers. In one sense, these extracurricular activities gave Brown additional chances to test and refine some ideas, especially as his music moved from more traditional soul to funk. As Dean Rudland's fine liner notes point out, this was especially the case from late 1963 to early 1965, when legal problems prevented Brown from recording often as a singer. From these standpoints, this CD is a valuable document of an aspect of his career that's usually overlooked. From a pure musical standpoint, however, the sounds are more historical than outstanding, and with a few exceptions not nearly as vital as the records Brown himself was putting out in the same era. For one thing, the singers represented here, though competent, weren't in the same league as their mentor. For another, they often beg comparison with similar, but better, Brown records. In some instances (especially Dizzy Jones' "I Don't Care"), they sound like James Brown tracks with a singer instructed to lay down a guide vocal intended to simulate the Godfather. All that noted, this music -- much of which Brown had a songwriting, as well as production, hand in -- certainly has its appealing aspects for Brown fans, not just Brown completist collectors, though it's more rooted in his early-'60s vocal R&B style than his more groundbreaking mid-'60s early funk outings. Though none of these singles were hits of any consequence, Brown fans will certainly recognize his right-hand man, Bobby Byrd, and general soul fans will know Tammy Montgomery, who as Tammi Terrell went on to score hits for Motown. Ultimately, however, just two tracks are truly outstanding, both of those belonging to Yvonne Fair. One is her exciting raw cover of Frankie Lymon's "It Hurts to Be in Love"; the other, a far more momentous one, is her 1962 single "I Found You," a song that with substantial alterations would become Brown's huge 1965 hit "I Feel Good." Worthy of honorable mention are the Poets' organ-paced instrumental "Devil's Den, Pt. 1" and Anna King's "If You Don't Think," which has some super-tight horn-guitar interplay behind a lusty vocal. ~ Richie Unterberger

Professional Reviews: Living Blues (p.76) - "Aside from the undeniable talent of all concerned, the most fascinating thing about this set is the glimpse it provides us into the ongoing evolution of the JB sound."

Format: CD (1 Disc); Stereo

Country: USA

Studio/Live: Studio

Release Date: 11 July, 2008

Label: Dark Peak Productions

Dimensions: 12.5 x 14.2 x 1 centimeters (0.11 kg)