As most of us have known for years, James Brown's a sex machine. He's a ladies' man, and he's not afraid to grunt when it come to proving his love. But what about the women that have had the Godfather of Soul in the sack and lived to tell about it? Where are they? And more importantly, who are they? Well, James Brown's Original Funky Divas, a brilliant two- disc compilation of these women's music, is prepared to answer both of those questions with a resounding "uh!"

Spanning two decades (the 1960s and 1970s), Funky Divas chronicles the recordings of 13 women James Brown discovered (and slept with). But it's much more than that-- it's an archive of long out- of- print soul records that deserve more attention than they ever received.

From Yvonne Fair's earnest, alto wail on tracks like the inspirational "You Can Make It If You Try," the bluesy "Straighten Up" and "I Found You" (an early version of Brown's hit "I Feel Good") to Marva Whitney's struggles to succeed in the real world, and Vicki Anderson's responses to later James Brown hits (such as "Answer To Mother Popcorn," "Super Good" and "I'm Too Tough For Mr. Big Stuff"), it's clear that these are strong- ass mothers you don't wanna mess with.

Never during the course of its 46 tracks does Funky Divas become tiresome. While most of the divas' songs have similar grooves, they all have very distinguished vocal and lyric styles. But it's your money-- for $25 you can own a sealed, vinyl copy of one of these soul sister's long- lost record albums, or you can pick up an entire catalog of classic soul sister anthems.

-Ryan Schreiber

Sound Clip:
Vicki Anderson: "I'm Too Tough
For Mr. Big Stuff (Hot Pants)"
MPEG-LayerII
64kpbs.44kHz.
244k.31sec.