Doc Shoe's Music Blog

“The Payback” by James Brown

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing once more the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, the Godfather of Soul, Mr. Dynamite himself, James motherfucking Brown.  Here’s a killer soundtrack he recorded for a blaxploitation film, Hell Up in Harlem.  It was rejected by director Larry Cohen for “not being funky enough.”  So James Brown released it as a double-album, and The Payback went to #1 on the Soul Albums chart for two weeks, cracked the Pop Albums Top 40, and became a landmark Funk classic, being one of the most-sampled albums of all time.  Larry Cohen obviously can’t tell his own ass from a hole in the ground, because James Brown is incapable of being “not funky enough.”

“Run Fay Run” by Isaac Hayes

Doc Shoe is stoned as shit once again, and as soon as my girlfriend gets home we’re off to the record store.  In the meantime, here’s Isaac Hayes with a little something from the soundtrack for 1974’s Three Tough Guys.  (Yeah, I didn’t see that movie ever, but the song kicks ass.)

“Trouble Man” by Marvin Gaye

As you may have noticed, I’ve got a thing for old Blaxploitation soundtracks.  (Click here for more underrated Soul-flavored soundtracks.)  Here’s a little something Marvin Gaye recorded for the movie Trouble Man.  I’ve never seen the movie, and maybe you haven’t either, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying this record.

“Make It Good To Yourself” by James Brown

Perhaps my favorite record for when I’m stoned: a Soul-Jazz Records compilation called Can You Dig It? The Music and Politics of Black Action Films 1968-75.  Featuring kickass artists like Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, and Bobby Womack, to name a few, but the real star here—especially given my pleasantly baked current state—is the hardest working man in show business, the Godfather of Soul, Mr. Dynamite himself, the ultimate authority on all things manly and awesome, James motherfucking Brown.  Here’s a taste of his score for Black Caesar.

“Pursuit of the Pimpmobile” by Isaac Hayes

Yes, I’m still digging through old Blaxploitation sountracks (click here for more), and loving every minute of it.  You could be a goddamn scrawny accountant, but just put this music on your car stereo when you’re driving around town and you’ll feel like a certified Badass Motherfucker. 

“Pusherman” by Curtis Mayfield

This is one of the few soundtracks ever to out-gross the movie itself, and no wonder.  James Brown, Isaac Hayes, and Marvin Gaye all recorded soundtracks for Blaxploitation films (click here for more), but aside from one or two songs each of those records were primarily comprised of instrumental tracks.  Mayfield, on the other hand, wrote an entire album, lyrics and all, with a song for every major character.  You might argue that he put more work into his soundtrack than the movie Superfly deserved, but years later people are still listening to this record.

Click here for “Freddie’s Dead” from the Superfly soundtrack.

“Freddie’s Dead” by Curtis Mayfield

What the hell is this?  Super Fly was a fairly straightforward action movie, riding the wave of Blaxploitation films of the early ’70s.  It’s about a drug dealer and all-around bad-ass named Priest, who’s got a plan to stick it to The Man.  It’s an alright movie, for what it’s worth; not a work of art like Across 110th Street, not as iconic as Shaft, not as goofy as Dolemite, and unfortunately it doesn’t star Pam Grier, but it’s alright.

But Curtis Mayfield, hired to record the soundtrack, saw the film as a launching-pad for a socially-aware concept album, something like Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.  Just take this song, “Freddie’s Dead.”  In the film the instrumental track plays without the vocals, presumably because Mayfield’s lyrics would have thrown a monkey-wrench into Super Fly.  In the film, nobody particularly cares that Freddie is dead, and Priest, too, is “pushin’ dope for The Man!” as Mayfield so indignantly shouts.  He made a record that was too smart for this movie.

And it payed off.  Curtis Mayfield’s Super Fly soundtrack is one of the only soundtracks ever to out-gross the movie itself.

Here’s a Johnny Pate number from a gotta-have two-disc Soul-Jazz Records comp called Can You Dig It? The Music And Politics Of Black Action Films 1968-75.  As you might recall I’ve posted music from this comp before; it’s a collection of great music from old Blaxploitation pictures, and every single track is Mandatory Listening.  This particular song is taken from the movie Shaft In Africa.

Further Listening: Seriously, this is one of the most addictive compilations I’ve ever heard—it’s right up there with that first Maximum RocknRoll Hardcore comp, Not So Quiet On The Western Front.  The folks at Soul-Jazz have put out a lot of great compilations, my personal favorites (so far) being New Orleans Funk Vol. 1 and this collection of Bossa Nova music.

This is from a great Soul-Jazz Records compilation of music from Blaxploitation flicks, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.  I bought it almost out of reflex when I saw Pam Grier on the cover, and I’ve been listening to this music for a month now.