the payback

The Godfather of Soul turned out the funk and wound down the blues for this would-be blaxploitation soundtrack and had the biggest album of his career.  After making the score for 'Black Caesar' and 'Slaughter's Big Rip-Off'', James Brown set out to do the soundtrack for 'Hell Up in Harlem'.  The sessions were produced by Brown and featured  Fred Wesley on trombone, Maceo Parker on flute and alto sax, St. Clair Pinckney on tenor sax, Jimmy Nolen on guitar, and John Starks on drums.  

The resulting music was rejected by the film's producer Larry Cohen. Brown recalled:  [He said] 'It’s not funky enough.'"  To which Brown replied, “What? Not funky enough? I invented funky!”

Brown took the tracks and put them out as a solo album.  The extended grooves could not be contained on a single album and it was released as a double album with two tracks on each side.  The title track became a number one R&B smash and 'The Payback' went to number thirty-four on the Billboard 200 album chart and number one on the Soul Albums chart.  It became his best selling album and only album to be certified gold.  





http://www.jamesbrown.com/








'The Payback'
full album:



1. "The Payback"   (Brown, Wesley, John "Jabo" Starks) 7:39
2. "Doing the Best I Can"     7:42
3. "Take Some...Leave Some"     8:33
4. "Shoot Your Shot"   Brown 8:09
5. "Forever Suffering"     5:52
6. "Time Is Running Out Fast"     12:47
7. "Stone to the Bone"   Brown 10:14
8. "Mind Power"     12:04