With the release of “I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)” in late 1967, the funky soul music that Brown had been playing for most of the Sixties suddenly became soulful funk music. Backed by a white soul band from Cincinnati called The Dapps, “I Can’t Stand Myself” is completely laid back yet tightly coiled. Even more astounding is the flip side, “There Was a Time,” based around a single chord, delivering a three-and-a-half-minute master class in rhythm, dynamics, and vocal exertion. Under the supervision of Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis, Brown’s band seemed to top itself with each new release, from “I Got the Feeling” to “Licking Stick” to “Give It Up or Turnit a Loose.” The climax of this period was “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud,” a song that finally offered a message to equal the urgent, pointed exclamation of Brown’s music. Even the lesser-known tracks here should not be underestimated. “You’ve Got the Power,” “I Guess I’ll Have to Cry, Cry, Cry,” and “Goodbye My Love” are devastating ballads, while “You Know It” and “Soul Pride” are distinctive exponents of Brown’s indestructible groove. To listen to this collection is not just to watch Brown grow as an artist, but to witness a shift that was taking place in black popular culture and American society as a whole.