The Payback

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The Payback
Studio album by James Brown
Released	December 1974
Recorded	February to October 1973
Genre	Funk/R&B
Length	72:52
Label	Polydor
Producer	James Brown
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B+) link
James Brown chronology
Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973) The Payback (1974) Hell (1974)

The Payback is a 1974 double album by James Brown. It was originally scheduled to become the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Hell Up in Harlem, but was rejected by director Larry Cohen for "not being James Brown enough."

The Payback is considered a high point in Brown's recording career, and is now regarded by critics as a landmark funk album. Its revenge-themed title track, a #1 R&B hit, is one of his most famous songs and an especially prolific source of samples for record producers. Musically the album is largely based around cyclic grooves and jamming, but it also features departures into a softer blues-based sound on tracks like "Doing the Best I Can."

The album was reissued on CD in 1992 with liner notes by Alan Leeds.

[edit] Track listing

1. "The Payback" – 7:39
2. "Doing the Best I Can" – 7:39
3. "Take Some...Leave Some" – 8:20
4. "Shoot Your Shot" – 8:19
5. "Forever Suffering" – 5:39
6. "Time Is Running Out Fast" – 12:58
7. "Stone to the Bone" – 10:14
8. "Mind Power" – 12:04

• Note: The track time for "Mind Power" is from the 1992 re-release of the album. The original 1974 version is 90 seconds shorter.

[edit] Charts

Album — Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1974	Billboard's Pop Albums	34

[edit] External links

• Detailed Review of the album