I don’t often buy soundtracks, but I can understand why people buy albums like The Sound of Music or The Benny Goodman Story in enormous quantities. (Perhaps RL might put in a good word for Lift to the Scaffold - see Comments). I’ve had two soundtracks of early 1970s Blaxploitation films for decades; The Final Comedown by Grant Green and The Dynamite Brothers by Charles Earland. Last year, I bought two more, doubling my soundtrack collection.
Much of Black Caesar, from 1974, was written and arranged by Fred Wesley, and much of the music clearly relates to the presumed plot; tracks like Paying The Cost to be The Boss and Down and Out in New York City have obvious connections. Other tracks are less plot-related but do stand up without the film; in particular Brown’s new take on Memphis Slim’s Messin’ with the Blues (which he had already recorded in 1957), has some fine Ellington-style piano playing from him. Brown rarely recorded on piano, so any of the few tracks he made are valuable.
The 1973 soundtrack to Lialeh used to be an incredibly rare item only affordable by Acid Jazz DJs. It has been reissued by an obscure Seattle label, so it looks like the CD will become rare soon. Apparently Lialeh was the first Blaxploitation porn film. The soundtrack is not only very good soul jazz but the inclusion of a very New Orleans funereal version of Pass Me Not, Oh Gentle Saviour reveals, astoundingly, that the film must have had a plot!
Purdie and his band actually performed in the film, in a club scene; there’s a shot on the cover of him trying to play drums with a naked lady grabbing him. Oh, the trials of a jazz musician! - AM
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Not sure about soundtracks played in the privacy of my own home, since if they work well as soundtracks and merely create a mood, rather than dominating the film, then they probably don't work well as albums. Lift to The Scaffold I thought was a great soundtrack but I've never bothered with it as an album. I thought much the same about Davis' Siesta - always seem to be something missing, namely the film. On the other hand, Grosse Pointe Blank has a blistering soundtrack which makes a fantastic album. But then they just took great songs, rather than writing something round the film.
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