Hell (James Brown album)

1974 studio album by James Brown

ReleasedJune 28, 1974 (1974-06-28)

RecordedAugust 23, 1973 (1973-08-23) – May 1974 (1974-05)^[1]^[2]

Studio

International Studios (Augusta, Georgia)
A & R Studios (New York City, New York)
United Artists Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Sound Ideas Studios (New York City, New York)

Genre

Funk
Soul

Hell

Studio album by

James Brown

Released

June 28, 1974 (1974-06-28)

Recorded

August 23, 1973 (1973-08-23) – May 1974 (1974-05)^[1]^[2]

Studio

International Studios (Augusta, Georgia)
A & R Studios (New York City, New York)
United Artists Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Sound Ideas Studios (New York City, New York)

Genre

Funk
Soul

Length

68:20

Label

Polydor
2-9001

Producer

James Brown

James Brown chronology

The Payback
(1973)

Hell
(1974)

Reality
(1974)

Singles from Hell

"My Thang"
Released: June 1974
"Papa Don't Take No Mess"
Released: August 1974
"Coldblooded"
Released: October 1974

Hell (sometimes referred to as It's Hell) is the 38th studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released on June 28, 1974, by Polydor Records.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Robert Christgau	B^[4]
Džuboks	unfavorable ^[5]
Rolling Stone	favorable^[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[7]

Side A
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Coldblooded"	James Brown	4:45
2.	"Hell"	Brown	5:03
3.	"My Thang"	Brown	4:20
4.	"Sayin' It and Doin' It"	Brown	3:05
5.	"Please, Please, Please" (Remake)	Brown, John Terry	4:07

Side B
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"When the Saints Go Marchin' In"	Traditional; arranged by David Matthews	2:43
2.	"These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)"	Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey	3:14
3.	"Stormy Monday"	T-Bone Walker	3:15
4.	"A Man Has to Go Back to the Cross Road Before He Finds Himself" (Remake)	Brown	2:52
5.	"Sometime" (Remake)	Brown, Bud Hobgood	4:15

Side C
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Can't Stand It '76'" (Remake)	Brown	8:10
2.	"Lost Someone" (Remake)	Brown, Bobby Byrd, Lloyd Stallworth	3:35
3.	"Don't Tell a Lie about Me and I Won't Tell the Truth on You"	Brown, J. Maloy Roach	5:05

Side D
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Papa Don't Take No Mess"	Charles Bobbit, Brown, John Starks, Fred Wesley	13:51

Personnel

James Brown – lead vocals, electric organ, piano, synthesizer

The J.B.'s arranged by James Brown (Tracks A1, A2, C1, D1)^[1]^[2]

Lyn Collins, Martha High – backing vocals
Isiah "Ike" Oakley – trumpet
Fred Wesley – trombone, tambourine
Maceo Parker, Jimmy Parker – alto saxophone
St. Clair Pinckney – tenor saxophone
Jimmy Nolen, Hearlon "Cheese" Martin – electric guitar
Fred Thomas, "Sweet" Charles Sherrell – bass guitar
Johnny Griggs – congas
John Morgan – percussion, drums
John "Jabo" Starks – drums

Studio band arranged by David Matthews (Tracks A3, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, C3)^[1]^[2]

Hilda Harris, Debbie McDuffie, Maeretha Stewart, Fred Wesley, Bobby Roach, Johnny Scotton – backing vocals
Jon Faddis, Lou Soloff – trumpet
Michael Gibson, Tom Harrell – trombone
David Sanborn – alto saxophone
Joe Farrell, Frank Vicari – tenor saxophone
Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis – baritone saxophone
Jimmy Buffington – french horn
Joe Farrell, Eddie Daniels, David Tofani – reed
David Matthews – piano
Gene Orloff – concertmaster for unknown string section
Joe Beck, Sam Brown, Charlie Brown – electric guitar
Gordon Edwards – bass guitar
Bob Both – tambourine
Sue Evans – agogô, brushes
Ralph McDonald – percussion
Jimmy Madison – drums

Tracks A4, A5 and C2 feature unidentified studio bands arranged by James Brown.^[1]

References

1 2 3 4 Leeds, Alan (1995). Hell (CD ed.). Polydor. 314 523 983-2.
1 2 3 Leeds, Alan (January 2010). The Singles, Volume 9: 1973–1975. Hip-O Select (published July 2, 2010). B0014259-02.
↑ Elias, Jason. "James Brown: Hell > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
↑ Christgau, Robert. "James Brown". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
↑ Vrdoljak, Dražen. "James Brown - Hell". Džuboks (in Serbian) (10 (second series)). Gornji Milanovac: Dečje novine: 22–23.
↑ Palmer, Bob (September 12, 1974). "James Brown: Hell". Rolling Stone. No. RS 169. Archived from the original on December 8, 2007.
↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide - Nathan Brackett, Christian David Hoard - Google Books. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved July 19, 2015.

v t e James Brown
Studio albums	Please Please Please Try Me! Think! The Amazing James Brown James Brown and His Famous Flames Tour the U.S.A. Prisoner of Love Showtime Grits & Soul Out of Sight Papa's Got a Brand New Bag James Brown Plays James Brown Today & Yesterday I Got You (I Feel Good) Mighty Instrumentals James Brown Plays New Breed (The Boo-Ga-Loo) It's a Man's Man's Man's World James Brown Sings Christmas Songs Handful of Soul James Brown Sings Raw Soul James Brown Plays the Real Thing Cold Sweat I Can't Stand Myself When You Touch Me I Got the Feelin' James Brown Plays Nothing But Soul Thinking About Little Willie John and a Few Nice Things A Soulful Christmas Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud Gettin' Down to It The Popcorn It's a Mother Ain't It Funky Soul on Top It's a New Day – Let a Man Come In Hey America Sho Is Funky Down Here Hot Pants There It Is Get on the Good Foot Black Caesar The Payback Hell Reality Sex Machine Today Everybody's Doin' the Hustle & Dead on the Double Bump Hot Get Up Offa that Thing Bodyheat Mutha's Nature Jam 1980's Take a Look at Those Cakes The Original Disco Man People Soul Syndrome Nonstop! Bring It On! Gravity I'm Real Love Over-Due Universal James I'm Back The Merry Christmas Album The Next Step
Live albums	Live at the Apollo Pure Dynamite! Live at the Royal The James Brown Show Live at the Garden Live at the Apollo, Volume II Sex Machine Super Bad Revolution of the Mind: Live at the Apollo, Volume III Hot on the One Live in New York Live at Chastain Park Soul Session Live Love, Power, Peace: Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1971 Live at the Apollo 1995 Say It Live and Loud: Live in Dallas 08.26.68
Notable compilation albums	Good, Good, Twistin' Solid Gold: 30 Golden Hits In the Jungle Groove Motherlode Roots of a Revolution Star Time 20 All-Time Greatest Hits! Sex Machine: The Very Best of James Brown Foundations of Funk – A Brand New Bag: 1964–1969 Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang The Godfather: The Very Best of James Brown JB40 – 40th Anniversary Collection Make It Funky – The Big Payback: 1971–1975 The Singles (1 - 2 - 3 - 4)
Band members	Bobby Byrd Lyn Collins Catfish Collins Bootsy Collins Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis Maceo Parker Melvin Parker St. Clair Pinckney John "Jabo" Starks Clyde Stubblefield Fred Thomas Fred Wesley
Associated acts	The Famous Flames The J.B.'s
Related articles	Discography Record labels owned by James Brown Super Bowl XXXI halftime show "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" James Brown: Man to Man Live at the Boston Garden: April 5, 1968 Future Shock Tomi Rae Hynie Get on Up

Authority control databases	MusicBrainz release group

This 1970s R&B/soul album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

Related Articles