Wide Awake In A Dream - James Brown Productions From The Pre Funk Years

renowned for her pre-eminence as one of james brown's funky divas, vicki anderson's late 60s / early 70s funk 45s for king and brownstone records are highly regarded. less well known, but just as good, are the soul sides that she cut, mostly with soul brother number 1 at the controls - between 1964 and 1969. unlike her funk outings, most of them have been overlooked, underplayed and unreissued. this first-ever compilation of her smash, fontana, abc, federal and early king sings strives to put that right. vicki's fiery gospel-influence tones are backed by the james brown bands of the time, while james brown and vicki's 'other half' bobby byrd also get a chance or two to flex a bit of vocal muscle here and there. 'wide awake in a dream' features songs made famous by the marvelettes, sam cooke, the '5' royales, martha and the vandellas and ben e king, as well as a healthy helping of vicki's and james brown's own compositions. its mix of 60s dancers, and searing soul ballads will be something of a revelation to anyone who thinks that all james brown and his artists could do was get funky.