James Brown - James Brown And His Famous Flames Tour The U.S.A. (1962)

The title's more than a bit disingenuous--Tour the U.S.A. was recorded in the studio, not on the road--but otherwise the music is as straightforward and sincere as one would expect from James Brown. Comprised largely of hard-hitting instrumentals, the album shifts the emphasis away from Brown himself onto backing unit the Famous Flames, and while firmly rooted in the R&B conventions of the era, the music clearly anticipates the era-defining grooves of his premier supporting unit, the JB's. That said, Tour the U.S.A. is like so many of Brown's albums mostly filler--more prelude for what's to come than anything else.