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As an unreconstructed antediluvian rock’n'rolla who revels in the disgusting stink of an electric guitar, the music of the late James Brown was always utterly captivating and exciting. I may not be able to bust any type of move on a dance floor but the funky rhythms always found a way to my toes if not my hips. The influence of James Brown (via soul and funk) is heard everytime you hear some type of ninth chord with a clean tome chattering away in sixteenth notes via a guitar. That is all it takes for a rocker to say, “Hey. I’m funky and getting down with my bad self”. Break out the E9 and funk away. And while a competent guitarist can produce a passable funk, the actual riffs on the James Brown recordings (with Jimmy Nolen as the prime originator) are subtle and full of wary traps of syncopation. At GIT there was a funk masterclass (basically it was James Brown Greatest Hits) where the mystery of funk was examined. The places where no notes lay where shown to be vital, the slight variations in the rhythms were essential and it was damn hard to do right. There were a few guitarists who devoted their entire year to playing funk and funk only. In a place where the lead guitarist ruled, they walked their own road and inspired delight and astonishment through rhythmic virtuosity. My favourite James Brown track (guitar wise) is Get On The Good Foot . One guitar goes one way with chordal stabs that play around with the beat while another guitar plays a single minded, single note line that starts on the second (A) from the tonic (G). The rhythms of both guitar never quite meet and it sounds awesome. Other then the many greatest hits compilations I can’t name a James Brown album to recommend. For me his work existed in the singles and classic tracks, not the albums. One anthology that is worth finding is Funky Good Time which collects tracks by James Brown’s backing band the JBs. There is some major soul power to be found on this collection.