Messing With the Blues

Even an artist as original as James Brown has influences, and Messing With the Blues compiles more than two dozen versions of songs from his root sources. Serving as not only history lesson but also an amazing display of vocal chops, the album spans nearly two decades of Brown studio work. Clearly, he returned again and again to this music for himself as much as anyone. From the stinging jump blues of Louis Jordan’s “Caldonia” and Roy Brown’s “Love Don’t Love Nobody” to a rolling take on Fats Domino’s early “Goin’ Home,” the stylistic range displays Brown’s ability to find himself in a variety of settings. He also pays tribute to Little Willie John, a contemporary he once called his favorite singer, on the ballads “Need Your Love So Bad,” “Talk to Me, Talk to Me,” and “Suffering With the Blues.” Finally, the long excerpts from the unreleased “Like It Is, Like It Was (The Blues)” that bookend the set demonstrate just how personal this music was for the Godfather.