50th Anniversary Collection

Disc 1
1	Please, Please, Please 2:45
2	Try Me 2:31
3	Good Good Lovin' 2:15
4	I'll Go Crazy 2:08
5	Think 2:50
6	Bewildered 2:24
7	Lost Someone 3:06
8	Night Train 3:31
9	Prisoner of Love 2:22
10	Out of Sight 2:23
11	Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Pt. 1 2:07
12	I Got You (I Feel Good) 2:47
13	It's a Man's Man's Man's World 2:48
14	Bring It Up (Hipster's Avenue) 2:45
15	Let Yourself Go 2:58
16	Cold Sweat, Pt. 1 2:52
17	Get It Together, Pt. 1 3:51
18	There Was a Time Live 3:35
19	I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me), Pt. 1 3:31
20	I Got the Feelin' 2:37
21	Licking Stick-Licking Stick, Pt. 1 2:48
22	Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud), Pt. 1 2:48
23	Give It Up or Turnit a Loose 2:50
24	I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I'll Get ...) 3:05
25	The Popcorn 3:02
26	Mother Popcorn, Pt. 1 3:17
27	Ain't It Funky Now, Pt. 1 3:08
Disc 2
1	It's a New Day, Pt. 1 3:08
2	Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1 2:50
3	Super Bad, Pt. 1 2:52
4	Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved, Pt. 1 3:32
5	Soul Power, Pt. 1 3:20
6	Hot Pants, Pt. 1 3:07
7	Make It Funky, Pt. 1 3:15
8	I'm a Greedy Man, Pt. 1 2:48
9	Talking Loud and Saying Nothing, Pt. 1 3:15
10	There It Is, Pt. 1 3:06
11	Get on the Good Foot, Pt. 1 3:29
12	I Got Ants in My Pants (And I Want to Dance), Pt. 1 2:53
13	Down and Out in New York City 3:16
14	Sexy, Sexy, Sexy 3:06
15	Doing It to Death, Pt. 1 / Fred Wesley 3:03
16	The Payback, Pt. 1 3:32
17	My Thang 4:09
18	Papa Don't Take No Mess, Pt. 1 4:29
19	Funky President (People It's Bad) 3:55
20	Get Up Offa That Thing 4:00
21	Body Heat, Pt. 1 3:57
22	It's Too Funky in Here 3:45
23	Static, Pts. 1 & 2 4:52

Barnes & Noble

This definitive two-CD retrospective clebrates both the Godfather of Soul's 70th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his show business debut. Appropriately, The 50th Anniversary Collection brings together 50 of James Brown's greatest hits -- including "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Pt. 1," "Say It Loud -- I'm Black and I'm Proud," and "I Got You (I Feel Good)." The package also includes a 16-page booklet with a historical essay, photos, and track notes.

All Music Guide

James Brown's two-CD 40th Anniversary Collection gathered 40 of the soul-funk giant's biggest hits, and in keeping with its title, The 50th Anniversary Collection is just that little bit bigger and better, with (could you guess?) 50 of his most famous tracks. From 1956's "Please, Please, Please" to 1988's "Static, Pts. 1 & 2," it has almost all of his biggies, though the absence of the 1986 Top Five hit "Living in America" is puzzling indeed. But that's a minor quibble given the dozens of classics onboard, which taken as a whole not only represent the best Brown compilation on the market, but also make a plain case for the singer as one of the major talents of 20th century American music. It's not wholly redundant on the off-chance that you're willing to replace 40th Anniversary Collection, mopping up a few hits of note ("Bewildered," "Bring It Up," "Let Yourself Go," "I Can't Stand Myself [When You Touch Me], Pt. 1," "It's a New Day, Pt. 1," "The Popcorn") that didn't make the cut the previous time around. If you're keeping score, it does lose a couple minor goodies from 40th Anniversary Collection ("Money Won't Change You," "King Heroin"). Also, the '70s funk years might be given too much emphasis and his R&B-soul beginnings shortchanged, though there are plenty of other reissues of his '50s/'60s material out there if you want to investigate further. Want another minor quibble on what is nonetheless a superb anthology? 40th Anniversary Collection came out in 1996; The 50th Anniversary Collection came out in 2003. Now that's the sort of creative accounting only a marketing department could love. Didn't this anniversary come three years early, especially considering that Brown's recording debut was in 1956? Richie Unterberger

Blender

The 50th Anniversary Collection ably repackages nearly all of the Godfather's watershed singles on two easily digestible discs. Chairman Mao