A fine, if overpriced, compilation

I only discovered today (11/8/04) that such a CD existed and decided that I HAD to have it. I can honestly say that it is worth what I paid for it ($19.99 used but completely intact at my favorite CD store in San Francisco). A lot of signature JB horn section fabulosities as well as some really jazz-inspired arrangements. If you like "Giants of the Blues and Funk Tenor Sax" then you'll appreciate this.

Great on the road, great for a party

My guitar teacher loaned me tapes of these two CDs. On a 3600-mile road trip they earned pride of place in the car player. Guitar-wise you won't hear anything rock-ish, no fuzz tones, and nothing particularly jazzy. You will hear bare-bones, squeeky-clean R&B, a textbook of the style. JB and the whole band-- horns, drums, bass-- wrote the book on this style, and man does it wear well.

Simply Awsome

Soul Pride is one of those collections that anyone interested in jazz simply must have. There is a big difference between disk one and two. You can hear how much improved the band became. The first disk has a rough edge but loaded with power. Fat Bag and Devil's Den are standouts. From disk two songs like The Chicken, Soul Pride, The Chase,& Sudsy, is group jazz at it's finest. The band is tight and the sound is powerful. And Tighten-up is pure fun with Maceo at the helm,. there is so much good music here it will take months to absorb it all. There is a jazz radio station in Denver and why they never play anything of this set is a mystery. James Brown had a jazz Band that is up there with anyone at the time these CD's are proof of that.