High Infidelity

Shirley Brown has gotten a lot of mileage out of the theme of cheating men. Her first (and only, actually) hit "Woman To Woman" released on Stax in 1975, was a love-triangle tale fit for a soap opera and since then she's recorded songs called "Three Way Love Affair" "Don't Go Looking For My Man" and "You Left A Good Woman For A Good Time."

When Stax folded she recorded albums for a variety of labels (including the minor classic "Intimate Storm" in 1985 which unfortunately isn't in print anymore) without any major success. These days she's putting out records on the Malaco label and from her 1997 album "The Soul of A Woman" comes another sordid saga of adultery with the memorable title "I Caught You With Your Pants Down." This is what the kids call a slow jam, it has that modern R&B electronic beat with the skippy high-hat sound but what lifts it above cheesy bump 'n' grind is Shirley's vocal. She's a Southern Soul belle from the old school with some real grit and experience in her voice. Another part of Shirley's schtick that she's carried on from "Woman To Woman" is that she often does a talking bit on her records and her little lecture on this is a classic, with the brilliant line "I saw you and some tacky, blonde-weave-wearing, tall, no-booty-having chick." Ooh, bitch.

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I Caught You With Your Pants Down - Shirley Brown