The 40 Essential Albums of 1967

The modal title milestone one-upped Wilson Pickett's "Funky Broadway" and introduced JB's funky drummer number two, Clyde Stubblefield. But the uptempo oldies Brown added to the hit to make an album - Lloyd Price's "Stagger Lee," Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City," Little Willie John's "Fever" and Roy Brown's "Good Rockin' Tonight" - smelled a little fishy at the time. Now, however, they're caviar - JB's full voice and flawless time yoking proven classics to some of the tightest big-band blues ever recorded. The slow side pits Brown's ballad falsetto and ballad scream against some of the most elaborate R&B strings ever recorded. Especially on the two Nat "King" Cole numbers and an over-the-top "Come Rain or Come Shine," the falsetto wins by a mile.