James Brown-"Super Bad (Part 1 & 2)"

I have Part 1 only of "Super Bad" on James Brown's 50th Anniversary Collection CD set (Polydor B0001125) which sports the database comment: "Part 1 with no introduction". The thing is, the intro appears to exactly match that of other CDs I have containing Parts 1 & 2. So what exactly is missing on the Part 1 "with no introduction"?

In 1970, the tape rolled, and JB and his band recorded a 9-minute-long jam called "Super Bad". It was mixed to mono, with plenty of reverb on the vocals, then used in pieces (without edits) for the various 45 releases in 1970. I believe that the whole mono 9 minutes was used on the LP, but with stereo fake applause at the beginning and end of the song.

The CD releases sorta/kinda correspond to the pieces from 1970. It's messy.

LP version, mono music with stereo fake applause

I believe that this appears on two Japanese CD reissues of the full album, released in 2007 and 2014. I can't confirm.

Mono LP version, minus stereo fake applause (9:01)

This is the full instrumental performance. It's found on Polydor's James Brown CD Funk Power 1970 A Brand New Thang (1996). It looks like some care went into this particular CD, with some particular versions/mixes finding their way out of the vaults for the first time. I don't have this CD myself.

Part 1 (printed 2:51 on A-side of promo 45)

This appears as the first of the two tracks on the A-side of the promo 45.

This is 0:00 to 2:50 of the 9-minute-long session, with a fade from 2:46 to 2:50. There's no countoff on the intro; it just starts on the one. JB was all about the one.

It's available on Hip-O Select's The Singles Vol. 7 1970-1972 (2009), but the CD features Part 1 and Part 2 in the same track, with silence between them.

Part 2 (printed 2:51 on A-side promo 45)

This appears as the second of the two tracks on the A-side of the promo 45.

This is 2:47 to 5:37 of the 9-minute-long session, with a fade-in from 2:47 to 2:48 and a fade-out from 5:33 to 5:37.

There's overlap between Part 1 and Part 2, so you can edit them together.

It's also available on Hip-O Select's The Singles Vol. 7 1970-1972 (2009), but the CD features Part 1 and Part 2 in the same track, with silence between them.

Part 3 (printed 4:05 on B-side of promo 45 and B-side of commercial 45)

This appears as the B-side of the promo 45 and the commercial 45.

This is 4:55 to 9:02 of the 9-minute-long session, with a fade-in from 4:55 to 4:57 and a cold ending at 9:02.

There's overlap between Part 2 and Part 3, so you can edit these together, too.

It's available on Hip-O Select's The Singles Vol. 7 1970-1972 (2009) as a stand-alone track.

Parts 1 And 2 (printed 4:05 on commercial 45)

This is the hit 45 version.

This is 0:00 to 4:10 of the 9-minute-long session. If the commercial 45 version on Hip-O Select's The Singles Vol. 7 1970-1972 (2009) is correct, then the 45 has a fade from 4:03 to 4:10. There's no countoff on the intro.

My guess is that the JB two-track mixdown tapes weren't labeled all that well, because the CDs that feature the song have lengths and fade points that vary tremendously from disc-to-disc. Here are the handful that I have:

• Rhino's Billboard Top R&B Hits 1970 (1990) - fades from 3:57 to 4:13
• Polydor's James Brown 20 All-Time Greatest Hits (1991) - fades from 4:55 to 4:59
• Rhino's Billboard Hot Soul Hits 1970 (1995) - fades from 4:55 to 5:01
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 30 Superbad (2001) - is a digitally identical clone of 20 All-Time Greatest Hits but fades early from 4:05 to 4:11

All of the above (and the Hip-O collection) sound very good, with great dynamic range, reasonable EQ, and no evidence of noise reduction anywhere.

Non-hit 1985 mono remix of Part 1 (2:57)

The song was remixed for Polydor's James Brown CD Of JB (1985).

It now includes a count-off, which was likely missing from all of the earlier releases of the song. I know it's not on any of the 45 releases or any of the CDs I listed above.

This remix has no reverb at all on the vocals. The whole mix is very clean and intimate, but probably not what JB had in mind back in 1970.

Non-hit 1991 stereo remix of Parts 1 And 2 (4:26)

The song was remixed in extremely narrow stereo for Polydor's James Brown 4-CD Star Time (1991). The liner notes say "previously unreleased stereo mix".

It also includes the count-off.

This remix has a definite reverb on the vocals, but it's significantly less reverb than the 1970 mix. It's closer to the 1970 mix than the 1985 CD Of JB mix.

My recommendations

Although the Star Time remixes are extremely well done, I always gravitate toward the hit mixes.

If you're going to hunt down the hit mix, then how much "Super Bad" do you need? The lengths vary from disc-to-disc.

The Rhino Billboard CDs always sound fantastic (they're among the best-sounding compilations ever released). Polydor's 20 All-Time Greatest Hits (1991) is easily my favorite single-disc JB collection, with the original mixes of everything, and it's pretty inexpensive nowadays. Any of these three will work great for you.

The Hip-O Select collection probably gets the 45 fade points in exactly the right spot, but it's not cheap.

David C sent me the version on Spank, and now we can add one more category:

Non-hit 1985 stereo remix of Part 1 (2:57)

In hindsight, I would think that if one would go to the trouble of remixing the song, one would do the remix in stereo. It turns out that that's what actually happened with the 1985 remix, but it was folded down to mono for the CD Of JB.

The proper stereo version of the 1985 remix found its way out of the vaults on, of all things, a low-budget 12-track James Brown collection called Spank (Polydor/Special Music Company ‎837726-2, copyright 1992). Most of the songs are lower-tier songs in the JB catalog. The artwork looks cheap. There are no liner notes and no credits. The disc even gets the title wrong; it erroneously shows this song as "Superbad, Superslick", which is a completely different song (a non-hit single released in 1975).

By all accounts, the song should sound like mud here. But, somehow, it positively shines on this CD! It's a terrific analog transfer from the source tape. There's a huge dynamic range, with plenty of headroom so there's no clipping at all. The EQ is a little brighter than the CD Of JB, which emphasizes the hi-hat nicely. The fade seems to run out to the full length of the track, with no shortening or truncation. The fade retains its high end all the way to the tape hiss, so there's no evidence of noise reduction.

This is a most pleasant surprise in the JB catalog!