20th Century Masters - The Christmas Collection: The Best of James Brown

1	Go Power at Christmas Time 3:11
2	Let's Unite the Whole World at Christmas 2:43
3	Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto 3:01
4	Merry Christmas, Baby 3:55
5	Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year, Pts. 1-2 6:30
6	Soulful Christmas 3:08
7	The Christmas Song Version 1 2:42
8	Sweet Little Baby Boy, Pts. 1-2 5:16
9	Christmas Is Love 6:01
10	Please Come Home for Christmas 3:22
11	Santa Claus Is Definitely Here to Stay 4:23
12	Tit for Tat Ain't No Taking Back 3:05
13	Santa Claus, Santa Claus 4:02
14	Merry Christmas, I Love You 2:32
15	Signs of Christmas 4:37
16	Christmas in Heaven 2:55
17	Hey America Extended Version 3:55

All Music Guide

The Godfather of Soul makes it to the 20th Century Masters collection for a third time with this Christmas collection. James Brown was a big fan of Christmas, and Christmas records, releasing three of them: James Brown & His Famous Flames Sing Christmas Songs from 1966, Soulful Christmas from 1968, and Hey America released in 1970. All three albums are represented here, and despite JB's high-octane funk image, he's a sentimental guy, too (you would have to be to release three holiday albums), and most of the 17 tracks on The Christmas Collection are soul ballads. Hey, there's even a cover of the Mel Tormé-penned Yuletide classic "The Christmas Song." "Soulful Christmas," "Santa Claus, Santa Claus," and "Merry Christmas, I Love You" are the best of the ballads and, like rum in eggnog, a few funky cuts sneak in as well, including the racial equality-espousing "Hey America" and the warm groove of "Christmas in Love." Rumor has it that Santa himself has done more than a few chimney shimmies to JB's holiday treats. Wade Kergan