The Ohio Players - Mr. Mean (1977)

1. Mr. Mean
2. Fight Me, Chase Me
3. Controller's Mind
4. Big Score
5. Magic Trick
6. Good Luck Charm
7. Speak Easy

Blaxploitation.com
For the Ohio Players, a relatively subtle cover, and it's a fairly obscure blaxploitation album too, taken from a late 70s Fred Williamson flick. So what about the music? Interesting, definitely interesting. The Ohio Players were never the funkiest of funk bands, often adding a little too much rock to their sound for most funk enthusiasts. For this album, they stray away from their usual multi-layered vocal, add some more brass and analogue synth to the mix. Obviously viewed as an album that gave them more room to experiment, many of the tracks on here are instrumental and played in odd time signatures, but still groove. Don't expect a dancefloor bomb, but it's a good listen, with plenty of samples to boot.

Diana Ross - Mahogany (1975)

1. Theme: Do You Know Where You're Going To
2. Feeling Again
3. You Don't Ever Have To Be Alone
4. Can You Hear It In My Music
5. Christian's Theme
6. After You
7. Theme: Do You Know Where You're Going To (Instrumental)
8. My Hero Is A Gun
9. Cat Fight
10. Erucu
11. Let's Go Back To Day One
12. Tracy - Gil Askey Listen Listen
13. She's The Ideal Girl
14. Sweets (And Other Things)
15. Mahogany Suite

Blaxploitation.com
Diana Ross filmed two movies in the early 1970s, Lady Sings The Blues and this, the later Berry Gordy-funded Mahogany. While much of the album is standard Diana Ross / Motown fodder, there are two interesting funk cuts on the second side of the album that merit a listen.

Gault McDarmot - Cotton Comes To Harlem (1970)

 

1. Cotton Comes To Harlem - George Tipton
2. Coffin Ed And Grave Digger
3. Going Home - Sakinah
4. Sunlight Shining - Leta Galloway
5. Man In Distress
6. Harlem Medley
7. Black Enough - Melba Moore
8. Stockyard
9. The Loving Ballad - Denise Dillapena
10. Deke
11. Down In My Soul - Leta Galloway
12. Harlem By Day
13. My Salvation - Melba Moore
14. Ed And Digger


Blaxploitation.com
This soundtrack was written by the artist behind the musical 'Hair', Galt McDermot. An early and entertaining entry into 1970s black cinema, the album is equally rewarding and slightly tongue-in-cheek. There are some great groovy vocal numbers - the theme is noteworthy - and a few good instrumentals.

The Blackbyrds - Cornbread, Earl, and Me (1975)

1. Cornbread
2. One-Eye Two-Step
3. Mother/Son Theme
4. Heavy Town
5. One Gun Salute
6. Gym Fight
7. Riot
8. Soulful Source
9. Mother/Son Talk
10. At the Carnival
11. Candy Store Dilemma
12. Wilford's Gone
13. Mother/Son Bedroom Talk
14. Courtroom Emotions
15. Cornbread

Blaxploitation.com
Donald Byrd and The Blackbyrds entered the blaxploitation soundtrack arena fairly late in the day with this LP for Fantasy Records. The film's subject matter is not standard blaxploitation fare, being a socially-aware story about a young basketball player. The album has its moments, a great theme is particularly notable along with some strong Blackbyrds-style jazz-funk instrumentals, but it's not up to the standard of their early studio LPs.