Soul Surfing
This Week's Soundtrack remembers soul cinema and vintage funk, and finds its echo farther out than expected.
This Week's Soundtrack channel surfs for vintage soul soundtracks, and ends up in outa-space.
1."Coffy is The Color" - Roy Ayers, Carl Clay: The first half of This Week's Soundtrack is inspired by some Cox Cable channel surfing that turned up TNT Jackson, and some other juicy '70s soul cinema. This genre of film was one of the first venues to showcase the building momentum of the era's funk/soul sound. This first track, composed by Ayers, is featured in Jack Hill's 1973 film Coffy, starring Pam Grier as a nurse avenging her sister's forced drug addiction.
2."Shaft in Africa (Addis)" - Johnny Pate: This is the title track from the last of the John Shaft trilogy, released in 1973 ...
3."Show Me What You Got" - Jay Z: ... and then brought back to life in this '06 single, rubbing elbows with hip-hop samples from each subsequent decade.
4."Mack Man (Got to Get Over)" - Willie Hutch: A Motown recording artist in the '70s and '80s and considered one of the soul soundtrack greats, Hutch both produced and recorded this for 1973's The Mack. Starring Richard Pryor, the film is considered more social commentary than many others from the genre, as one of the first representations of the Black Panther scene in Oakland.
5."Hospital Shootout" - Isaac Hayes: A track from 1974's Truck Turner, starring the composer (Hayes) as a bounty hunter. Though it didn't receive as wide of a distribution, the soundtrack is Shaft's equal in terms of composition.
6."Slaughter" - Billy Preston: An earlier film, Jack Starrett's Slaughter from 1972, featured this track from clavinet/piano prodigy Preston as its title track.
7."Out There" - Willie Hutch: Another from one of Hutch's full compositions, this track is featured in Foxy Brown.
8."Theme from Cleopatra Jones" - Joe Simon: Another Starrett film, this one in 1973, debuts a caliber of heroine we'll become exceedingly familiar with decades later in nearly every Quentin Tarantino film. Cleopatra Jones, a martial arts-trained undercover agent with artillery built into her Stingray Corvette, makes the war on drugs look smokin' hot.
9."S***!S***!S***!" - David Holmes: From the Ocean's 13 soundtrack. His work owes an obvious debt to the soul cinema soundtracks.
10."Theme of The Mack" - Willie Hutch: Another from Hutch, and the title track from The Mack.
11. "Outa-Space (Single Version)" - Billy Preston: Though this isn't from a soundtrack, it's a similiar vintage (1971), and one of the first of his singles to get attention on the charts.
12."LoveHate Thing (feat. Sam Dew)" - Wale: From his third full-length album The Gifted, just released in June and already topping the charts. The D.C. rapper has called out his biggest influence as the go-go sound, a tributary of funk attributed to his hometown.
13."Game Seven" - Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers: This track, from the definitive go-go band, features the congo beat, horns, and soulful-ness that might have inspired the next generations.
14."The Thirst" - Freeway: This Philadelphia rapper comes to the Howlin' Wolf Saturday as part of Q93's Rock the Mic Concert.
15."Hangover" - CSS: New music from this Brazilian rave rock band, off the album Planta. They'll play in Baton Rouge in a few weeks.
16."High School Lover" - Cayucas: This Santa Monica band just released their debut full-length album,Bigfoot, in April and will be playing the Circle Bar Thursday.
17."Ecstasy and Release (Tom Ov England Remix)" - TNT Subhead: The title track from Portugese DJ and music producer Tiago Mirandas' May release, using one of his many aliases.
18."Christ Dust" - u-Ziq: Released in June, Chewed Corners, is the newest material from producer Mike Paradinas. A compilation of previously unreleased material from the '90s, curated by his wife, is due to come out in August.
19."Touche Pas Mon Sexe" - Comix: French electronic new wave music from the late '70s from an excellent compilation, BIPPP - French Synth Wave 1979-85.
20."Get it Ready, Ready!" - DJ Jubilee: A bounce classic, from a bounce legend. Jubilee plays The Republic Thursday, with the rest of the New Orleans bounce royalty, as part of an anniversary lineup.
21."Hollow Bedroom" - Waxahatchee: From her new release Cerulean Salt.
22."Hologram Dropouts" -Burnt Ones: This S.F. band comes to Circle Bar Tuesday with their new album You'll Never Walk Alone, bringing us some of that psychsurfabilly sound taking shape in their neck of the woods with bands like The Sandwitches and Sonny & The Sunsets.
