''Star Time'' is a four-CD
box set
A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists ...
by American musician
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
. Released in May 1991 by
Polydor Records
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
, its contents span most of the length of his career up to the time of its release, starting in 1956 with his first hit record, "
Please, Please, Please", and ending with "
Unity", his 1984 collaboration with
Afrika Bambaataa
Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...
. Writing in 2007,
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
described it as "the finest box set ever released... as essential a package as the biz has ever hawked, not just because it's James Brown, but because compilers
Cliff White and Harry Weinger invested so much care and knowledge in it." Its title comes from the question Brown's announcer would ask concert audiences, as heard on the album ''
Live at the Apollo'': "Are you ready for star time?"
''Star Time''s
liner notes
Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards.
Origin
Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
, written by Cliff White, Harry Weinger,
Nelson George
Nelson George (born September 1, 1957) is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Biography
George attended St. John's Universit ...
,
Alan Leeds, and Brown himself, won a 1991
Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
The Grammy Award – Best Album Notes has been presented since 1964. From 1973 to 1976 (the 15th through 18th Awards), a second award was presented for Best Album Notes – Classical. Those awards are listed under those years below. The award reco ...
. The notes also include a
discography
Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...
and a one-page
comic
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicat ...
by
Mary Fleener, a visual interpretation of the song "
I Got You (I Feel Good)
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a song by the American singer James Brown. First recorded for the 1964 album '' Out of Sight'' and then released in an alternate take as a single in 1965 and included on the compilation album of the same name, it w ...
."
In 2003, the album was ranked number 79 on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine's list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...
. It was the second-highest ranking box set on the list. In 2012, it moved up to 75, while in its 2020 revision, it moved to number 54.
Track listing
Adapted from CD booklet's liner notes.
Certifications
See also
* ''
20 All-Time Greatest Hits!''
References
Notes
External links
*
Rolling Stone story
{{Authority control
James Brown compilation albums
1991 compilation albums
The Famous Flames albums
Polydor Records compilation albums