Although composed by 70s sex-soundtrack genius Pierre Bachelet, this one's mostly a batch of jaunty, jagged little themes, a bit like Nino Rota's work for Fellini, with lots of similar touches. There's one striking number, though – "Ivory Coast Drums" – which has a weird back/forth rhythm approach, a bit of echo on the drums, and a melodic progression that makes the track a nice dark little number. Bachelet sings vocals on the French version of the "Black & White" theme – and other tracks include "The Letter", "The Battle", "Crossing The Rhine", "Fresnoy's Theme", and "La Chanson Des Souliers". LP, Vinyl record album

Insane! This is a totally weird album of messed-up funky grooves, played by the enigmatic Pool-Pah rock group, with arrangements by Rupert Holmes (of "Pina Colada" fame!) The music is a weird mix of spare moogy instrumentals and flanged-out vocal tracks designed to accompany a strange film called The Flasher – and although the general concept of the film and music seem incredibly stupid, the overall sound is pretty darn great! The album includes the monster slow-moving break track "Sour Soul", plus other nice funky and moogy tracks, like "Flight", "Two Way Road", and "Flasher Theme". Incredibly obscure, and the kind of rare break record you dig for for years! LP, Vinyl record album

With edited tracks by American Cream Team, Xzibit, Prodigy, X-Ecutioners, Everlast, Raekwon, dead prez, and others. (Hip Hop, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

Disco 9000 is Johnnie Taylor's 3rd release for Columbia – a great batch of smooth soul tracks with a lot less of the "disco" that you'd expect from the title! Johnnie produced the session himself – and the album was recorded as a soundtrack (to a film that was later retitled Fass Black), but works well on its own as a straight soul release. Most tracks are relatively long, in that smooth midtempo groove that Johnnie was using at the time – and the combination of his bluesy vocals and modern soul production really makes the set sparkle! Titles include "I Love You Woman", "Right Now", and "I Don't Know What I'd Do Without You". (Soul, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

A wild and weird early soundtrack work from the great Melvin Van Peebles – a set of songs composed by the man himself, and put together for an early directorial effort about a white man who wakes up one morning and finds himself black – and has to discover the real version of society from an African-American perspective! The music and politics are very similar to Melvin's early albums for A&M – songs that borrow from a few different styles, and aren't just straight soul and funk – handled with some larger arrangements from Bob Matthews, who amplifies some of the wildness in the tunes! Tracks include "Love, That's America", "Great Guy", "Eviction Scene", and "Where Are The Children". (Soul, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

A taut score from Piero Piccioni – penned for an early 60s black and white thriller, with a sound that's often a lot more serious than some of his other work of the time! There's a few whimsical themes at the start, but these drop off quickly – leaving some very spare, atmospheric numbers with a really tense, spooky sound – one that often comes from solo piano or organ work from Piccioni, the latter of which has a really deep-down, rumbling quality. Horns appear on some of the lighter moments – which have almost Nino Rota-like melodies that are a bit playful – but the score definitely leans towards the darker side of the spectrum at most moments. Titles include "Fox Foxy", "Waltz For You", "Il Terrorista", and "Eco Di Un Tempo". CD features the original soundtrack, plus 9 bonus tracks with a stereo mix! CD

Soundtrack to the much-hyped full length animated feature film – based on the popular sci-fi magazine of the time! The music here has little to do with the story, but there are plenty of great late 70s major label rockers in the lineup – on a set of tracks that includes "I Must Be Dreamin" and "Reach Out" by Cheap Trick, "Heavy Metal" by Sammy Hagar, "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult, "Mob Rules" by Black Sabbath, "True Companion" by Donald Fagen, "Prefabricated" by Trust, "Blue Lamp" by Stevie Nicks, "Crazy" by Nazareth, "Open Arms" by Journey, "Queen Bee" by Grand Funk Railroad, "All Of You" and "Heavy Metal" by Don Felder, "Radar Rider" by Riggs, and "Working In The Coal Mine" by Devo. LP, Vinyl record album

(Rock, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

It's no secret that some of the greatest jazz soundtracks ever were recorded in Paris – and this CD contains 2 of them! First up is the landmark Un Temoin Dans La Ville – recorded under the leadership of tenor sax player Barney Wilen, who had made such a huge contribution to Miles Davis' famous score for Acenseur Pour L'Echafaud. Wilen's score features 12 incredible tracks that are just dripping with black and white cinematic mood – played by a group that includes Kenny Dorham, Duke Jordan, and Kenny Clarke. Titles on that set include "La Pendaison", "Sur L'Antenne", "SOS Radio Taxis", "La Vie N'est Qu'Une Lutte", and "Ambiance Pourpre". The remaining 6 tracks on the CD are from the very rare soundtrack to J'Irai Cracher Sur Vos Tombes – written and arranged by pianist Alain Goraguer, with a group that includes trumpeter Roger Guerin, vibist Michel Hausser, and bassist Pierre Michelet. The soundtrack recalls a lot of Davis and Wilen's work together – and tracks include "Theme De Liz", "Blues De Memphis", and "Surprise Partie Au Bord De L'Eau". (Jazz, Soundtracks) CD

Hard to tell if these are new versions of songs, or simply ones lifted from Barry's UA soundtracks – but from the notes and the music, the album seems to be a unique one. Barry's sounding nice and lean here, working his way through his own work – like "The James Bond Theme", "Goldfinger", "From Russia With Love", and "Zulu Stomp" – plus tracks like "Spanish Harlem", "Moody River", "Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White", and "Baubles, Bangles, & Beads". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunner of a soundtrack from the maestro Barry White – his only entry into the blacksploitation film genre of the 70s, and a complete doozy throughout! For the album, Barry's stripped down the bigger space of his own records, and his Love Unlimited productions – into some shorter tracks that really focus on that blend of funk and strings that he could do so well – making for a batch of killer instrumentals that really offer up a special Barry White take on the funky film sound of the 70s! Love Unlimited also sing on two tracks – "Somebody Is Gonna Off The Man" and "People Of Tomorrow Are The Children Of Today _- but most of the record is instrumental, played by the Orchestra – and tracks include "Killer's Lullaby", "So Nice To Hear", "Killer Don't Do It", "Can't Seem To Find Him", "Alive & Well", "Theme From Together Brothers", "Do Drop In", and "Here Comes The Man". (Soul, Soundtracks) CD

One of Jerry Butler's funkiest moments of the 70s – served up in a fantastic soundtrack co-penned and arranged by the great Jerry Peters! Peters is best known for his hip work with a variety of soul acts in the studio, but he really steps out here for the score to Melinda – a lesser-known blacksploitation film from the early 70s, but one that boasts a heck of a great soundtrack! Peters approach here is a bit more baroque than some of his contemporaries – and he uses stepping strings equally alongside funky rhythms – creating a groove that's complicated, yet still plenty darn funky – and a sound that's as soulful on the mellower tunes as it is on the standout uptempo ones. Jerry Butler sings vocals on "Speak Truth To The People", "Tank's Theme", "Love is", and "Melinda Reprise" – but the instrumental tracks are even better, and inlcude the clavinet groover "Part III", the sitar-styled "Melinda Latino", and the cuts "Music For Tank's Boat", "The Blues (Dope Pusher's Theme)", and "I Can't Let You Go". (Soul, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

This is the small combo recording of tracks from the legendary jazz score to I Want To Live! Although not featured that prominently in the film, the band of Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Bud Shank, and others were a pretty tight little group – even though it was strange to see this west coast whitebread group playing in scenes of jazz/crime/evil. The record's a nice one, though, and features some of the livelier playing you'll hear from the players. Tracks are long, and titles include "Black Nightgown", "Night Watch", and the raging "Theme From I Want To Live". (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album