SATCHMO

Zarko's thread on exploitation cinema got me thinking about all the great deep soul and funk music that came about in the 70's as a result of the African American contribution to the Exploitation genre of film, that is if it can truly be considered a genre. Aside from being highly entertaining, and by today's standards extremely politically incorrect, Blacksploitation films were responsible for a large part of the wealth of soul and funk music that came out of the 70's, and happens to be still some of the most sampled music, still, by hip-hop and electronica producers.

some of the better soundtracks IMO are:

Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
The be all end all classic. Truthfully I don't think Iv'e seen this movie from start to finish without getting too distracted at various points (As a movie, It really isn't all that great), but the music is just a prime example of a very cohesive soul concept album, as it does follow the plot themes pretty stringently.



Isaac Hayes - Shaft
I don't think there's anyone alive who hasn't heard Theme from Shaft . With orchestrated horns, sizzling high hats, and wah-wah guitars rampant This album really defined the move from conventional soul to what could only be described as "urban" music in the 70's. This soundtrack also won Hayes an academy award, and cemented solo career after his departure from Stax Records.



Willie Hutch - The Mack
Despite producing the soundtrack to the much better known film Foxy Brown, this slightly lesser known classic has a much more ambitious soundtrack. While still holding all of the 70's soul trappings of both Mayfield and Hayes' contributions, this soundtrack definitely introduce a much more diverse and scene appropriate ambiance to the mix. Both The Mack and the Foxy Brown soundtracks are superb and very highly recommended, but I think The Mack edges out the with its diversity.



I know there's a lot more out there, but these three stand out in my mind as perfect classics.