Product Description

HELL was released at an interesting juncture in Brown's career. This 1974 album came in the wake of the highly regardedPAYBACK, and the unusual decision was made to include re-recorded versions of seven previously released songs. The packaging of the album leads one to believe that this is Brown'sbig social statement about the plight of those living in American ghettoes. Only the title song seems to address these issues, however powerfully. That's not to say HELL isn't full of captivating cuts, though. From the unrelenting '70s funk of "Sayin' and Doin' It" to the Latin feel given to "Please, Please, Please" this recording is full of obscure treasures. A few of the tracks feature the JB's, but most include killer session players like Gordon Edwards and Jimmy Madison.Interesting trivial note: almost all the songs are inexplicably separated by the crash of a gong.

Track Listing

1. Coldblodded
2. Hell
3. My Thang
4. Sayin' And Doin' It
5. Please Please Please
6. When The Saints Go Marching In
7. These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You
8. Stormy Monday
9. Man Has To Go Back To The Crossroad Before He Finds Him self
10. Sometime
11. I Can't Stand It "76"
12. Lost Someone
13. Don't Tell A Lie On Me And I Won't Tell The Truth On Yo u
14. Papa Don't Take No Mess

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18252 in Music
• Released on: 1996-04-29
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Just behind the Payback
This album arrived after "Payback" had shown that JB had lost none of his powers, despite the death of his son, troubles with the IRS and a commercial slump that had started when he lost much of his US crossover audience in the wake of "Say it Loud...".

Hell is a less cohesive album then Payback, (perhaps because the latter was conceived as a soundtrack) containing as it does covers, re-recordings and re-interpretations, as well as new tracks. Because of this, we do see sides of JB that had not been glimpsed for a while (ever?) - the latin version of "Please Please Please" and the similarly flavoured "Stormy Monday", the laid back groove on "These Foolish Things" and "A Man Has To Go Back..." as well as the Funk we know and love.

This was the last album JB recorded which could be ranked with the best of his late 60's/early 70's output. After this, as disco took hold,
those lesser talents that were riding the wave failed to acknowledge the debt they owed JB, as they stripped the music he invented of all feeling and reduced Dance music to a formula, in their search for commercial success. JB became viewed as an anacronism, and he struggled to cope without his status as a musical innovator and spokesman for his race.

James Brown never gave up working, though, and his place as a true innovator is now assured, thanks, in part, to those who kept the Funk alive in clubs, and brought it to a new audience. This is a significant album for all these reasons, but there is one other reason you should buy this album, and that is the monster Funk jam that is "Papa Don't Take No Mess" - indeed he doesn't.

James Brown at his funkiest
Hell is quite simply James Brown at his most funky. If you only buy one album by The Godfather, then make it this one. I'll fight anyone who claims they don't like it.