What could be better than a good, lengthy dose of Soul Brother Number One's greatest material? A good, lengthy dose of all his material, perhaps? Hells yeah! Now, if one were to be honest, they'd tell you straight that Mr. Dynamite recorded his most unchallengably classic tracks during the first half of the 1970s. Where this two- disc, uncut anthology picks up is during a period where Brown was considered practically outdated, being beat off the charts by a brand new bag called disco. Not that it made any difference to James. Nothing stopped the man from gettin' funky.

Dead On The Heavy Funk doesn't sport any of James' big hit songs, which makes all the difference. This compilation is for fans, completists, archivists and the folks that just can't get enough of Brown's good stuff. In a way, that makes this set more interesting. Who hasn't heard "Hot Pants," "I Feel Good" and "Get On The Good Foot" hundreds of times? If that's the stuff you want, you probably already own the first two discs in Polydor's James Brown anthology, Make It Funky (1971-1975).

What you get here is a bunch of obscure numbers, all of them totally compelling and 100% danceable. As with Make It Funky, these songs appear in their entirety (some lasting practically 12 minutes), whereas earlier versions were edited down for radio play and accessibility. Personally, I've enjoyed the super- long opener "Sex Machine Part I and II" during which James queries each of his band members what kind of girls they like. Let's face it-- that particular track would have lost most of its charm if it were cut down to three minutes. Songs like "Hustle!!! (Dead On It)," "If You Don't Give A Doggone About It" and "I Refuse To Lose" are fine examples of Brown's old age (he'd been around for more than fifty years in '75) not holding him back.

Best of all, you get to hear Brown's style evolve over the course of a few years. From the '70s funkadelic jam session freestyle of the first half of disc one to the early- '80s disco shuffle of the second half of disc two, the Godfather of Soul never lost direction.

Mr. Brown is getting on up there in years, just having turned 70 on May 3, 1998. Friends, he hasn't got much time left. So let Dead On The Heavy Funk recognize that James Brown, despite his criminal assault, drug charges, high- speed freeway chases and jail time, is and always has been the funkiest brother on campus.

-Ryan Schreiber