Donny Hathaway & Quincy Jones- Come Back Charleston Blue (1972)

1. Main theme
2. Basie
3. String segue
4. Vegetable wagon
5. Harlem dawn
6. Scratchy record
7. Explosion
8. Hearse to graveyard
9. Switch "Charleston Blue"
10. Come back Basie
11. Detective's goof
12. Gravedigger Jones & Coffin Ed's funeral
13. String segue
14. Little ghetto boy
15. Hail to the queen
16. Drag queen chase
17. Bossa nova
18. Tim's high
19. Furniture truck
20. Liberation
21. Come back Charleston Blue


Blaxploitation.com
An interesting but not entirely satisfying album from Quincy Jones. This LP features one of Donny Hathaway's finest songs, 'Little Ghetto Boy', a moving track of such beauty that it deserves a much wider audience. The rest of the LP is an uneven mix of short traditional jazz and funk instrumental tracks.

Roy Ayers - Coffy (1973)

 
1. Coffy Is The Color
2. Pricilla's Theme
3. King George
4. Aragon
5. Coffy Sauna
6. King's Last Ride
7. Coffy Baby
8. Brawling Broads
9. Escape
10. Shining Symbol
11. Exotic Dance
12. Making Love
13. Vittroni's Theme - King Is Dead
14. End Of Sugarman

Blaxploitation.com
A true blaxploitation classic. Among the finest of Roy Ayer's work. Superb, tight vibes-lead funk instrumentals sit alongside good funk vocal numbers. Features members of Ubiquity.

Gladys Knight & The Pips - Claudine (1974)

1. Mr. Welfare Man
2. To Be Invisible
3. On And On
4. The Makings Of You
5. Claudine Theme (Instrumental)
6. Hold On
7. Make Yours A Happy Home


Allmusic.com
The Claudine movie soundtrack sported the jammin' million-selling single "On and On" by Gladys Knight & the Pips. Written and produced by Curtis Mayfield and featured in the classic 1974 family drama starring Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, and Lawrence Hilton Jacobs (Welcome Back Kotter, Alien Nation, Cooley High), it parked at number two R&B for four weeks, going to number five Pop on Billboard's charts in 1974. Claudine is the least celebrated of songwriter/producer Mayfield's soundtrack albums (Superfly, Sparkle), though it's the most poignant of them. "Mr. Welfare Man" lays out the dehumanizing effect of being on welfare, while still being enticing and majestic in its dynamic arrangement. As much airplay as the track garnered, oddly it was never released as a single. "To Be Invisible" spoke to a child character's need to escape her depressing surroundings. Originally recorded by Mayfield on his Curtis LP, "The Makings of You" is a heart-tugging, strings-cushioned ballad that Knight sings wonderfully. Other LP tracks that received airplay are the upbeat, beautiful title track and the sweet "Make Yours a Happy Home," which curiously wasn't issued as a single until 1976. Claudine went gold, hitting number one on the R&B charts in summer 1974. It was reissued on CD by Capitol on June 8, 1999.

James Brown - Black Caesar (1973)

1. Down And Out In New York City
2. Blind Man Can See It
3. Sportin' Life
4. Dirty Harri
5. The Boss
6. Make It Good To Yourself
7. Mama Feelgood (Lyn Collins)
8. Mama's Dead
9. White Lightning (I Mean Moonshine)
10. Chase
11. Like It Is, Like It Was


Blaxploitation.com
This album represents James Brown's first attempt at a soundtrack LP, heavily assisted by Fred Wesley. The album contains a strong mix of vocal and instrumental tracks in the classic JB / JB's style and includes the superb 'Mama Feelgood' by Lynn Collins.

Movie Review
Black Caesar (1973)