Track Listing 1. Blues & Pants 2. Can't Stand It 3. Escape-Ism (Part 1) 4. Escape-Ism (Part 2) 5. Hot Pants (She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants) 6. Escape-Ism - (complete take, bonus track)
| Details | | Playing Time: | 19 min. | | Contributing Artists: | Fred Wesley, St. Clair Pinckney | | Distributor: | Universal Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes Personnel: James Brown (vocals, organ); Bobby Byrd (vocals, organ, tambourine); Hearlon "Cheese" Martin, Robert Coleman (guitar); Jimmy Parker (alto saxophone); St. Clair Pinckney (tenor saxophone); Jerone "Jasson" Sanford, Russell Crimes (trumpet); Fred Wesley (trombone); Fred Thomas (bass); John "Jabo" Starks (drums); Johnny Griggs (congas). Includes liner notes by Harry Weinger. Digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio (1992, Polygram Studios). "I love to get down, Jack" says James Brown on the hip-shaking "Escape-ism Pt. 1," and it's no lie. This vintage slab of funk comes from the man who defines the genre. After signing a new contract with Polydor in June 1971, Brown and a slightly reassembled band cranked out HOT PANTS in mere weeks. The music is that classic mixture of extremely tight and extremely loose funk. The characteristic elements are here: the solid, prominent bass, crisp drumming, quick starts and stops, and the inimitable Brown vocal style: shouts, screeches, shout-outs, and a liberal peppering of "Good God!" "Hit me!" and "Come on!" HOT PANTS opens with the leisurely, off-the-cuff sounding "Blues & Pants," which features extended horn solos and Brown's exhortations to the band to "pull on some pants!" The fierce "Can't Stand It," the record's shortest and tightest number, features incredible walking bass by Fred Wesley. The more leisurely "Escapism" is included here in two abbreviated parts, as well as the complete 19-minute piece. Despite the record's claim that this "contains the original hit single "Hot Pants," it actually contains a different version of the song, but one would be hard-pressed to complain: It's still "smokin'."
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