46 Years Ago Today…

James Brown recorded his legendary Live At The Apollo album.  Here’s Allmusic.com’s review of the 2004 re-release:

The 2004 Deluxe Edition of James Brown’s Live at the Apollo (recorded in October of 1962 and issued in 1963) really is a deluxe issue. For starters, it was taken from the same undubbed stereo master as the 1990s version, keeping it separate from previously issued versions with overdubbed applause and “fixed” sequences. Because the technology of transferring analog tape to digital has improved greatly in the last decade and a half, the amount of information that can be moved from one source to another is far greater, translating into higher fidelity. The way this evidences itself here is in the feel of the room on this set. One can actually feel the Apollo as a room. It’s as if the listener is on the stage rather than in the audience, soaking up the same atmosphere as the band. It’s almost beyond live. Secondly, the crispness of the guitars and horns on this version has to be heard to be believed. It’s not harsh, not shrill, just immediate and crystal clear. (Conitune Reading…)

Here’s the “hardest working man in show biz-ness” with “Night Train”: