James Brown

The Godfather's legendary run of hits may have dried up by 1981, but he was riding a mini-revival following the release of The Blues Brothers. The definitive JB line-up was ancient history at this point, although chicken scratch guitar master Jimmy Nolen is still on hand and doubles as MC. This band was built for gigs in discos, excelling at up-tempo, four-to-the-floor numbers like "Rapp Payback” and "It’s Too Funky In Here.” Interestingly, it’s the break-beat stuff like "Get On the Good Foot” and "Sex Machine” that don’t quite ignite — the break beat revival was about five years away and these songs’ rhythms were relatively passé at the time. Mr. Brown was still a phenomenal dancer, and it’s great fun to watch his well-coiffed ’do unravel within about three songs. One of the best Live at Montreux titles yet.