Alan r Cohen

"The Payback" is the 37th studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released in December 1973, by Polydor Records. It was originally scheduled to become the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Hell Up in Harlem, but was rejected by the film's producers, who dismissed it as "the same old James Brown stuff." (A widely repeated story - including by Brown himself - that director Larry Cohen rejected the music as "not funky enough" is denied by Cohen). It went to #1 on the Soul Albums chart for two weeks and cracked the Pop Albums chart in the Top 40. It was Brown's only studio album to be certified Gold. "The Payback" is considered a high point in Brown's recording career, and is now regarded by critics as a landmark funk album.

"Killing Me Softly" is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Roberta Flack, released on August 1, 1973, by Atlantic Records. She recorded the album with producer Joel Dorn for 18 months. "Killing Me Softly" reached #3 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape and #2 on the Soul LPs chart. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album Gold on August 27, 1973, and double Platinum on January 30, 2006, denoting shipments of two million copies in the United States. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which it lost to Stevie Wonder's 1973 album "Innervisions". The album's title track was released as a single and topped the Billboard Hot 100. It won the 1974 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

"Killin’ It Live captures Tommy Castro And The Painkillers at their very best. Turn up the volume and play this album loud! This album delivers sizzling, gritty blues and rock. You can feel the band’s energy blowing through the speakers…and every song kills it. There’s a party going on. Make It Back To Memphis is a backbone slipper, propelling us out of our seats. Shimmering, downright funky vibes. Every song lives up to the high-flying promise of the opener. Funk-fueled blues rockers drenched with Castro’s soul-shaking, stinging, pure and crisp lead runs, which pierce the heart, driving home it’s power and staccato beauty. Shimmering and swampy…bright and funky…slow-burning and low-down…fluid, jet-fueled solos."