Customer Reviews

Black Caesar

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm going to stand up for this album. Sure, it wasn't the strongest soundtrack made in the "blaxploitation" genre - - in fact, one might even argue that Edwin Starr outfunked the Godfather in the follow up to it "Hell Up in Harlem", but still there's some pretty bad tracks, and also, you can always go to the video rental shop (or order the film on Amazon) to decide if you want it. - - The film itself was pretty baaaaaaaad (as in Good)... it starred Fred Williams in the tale of the rise and fall of a Black Mobster, who takes on the cop and the mob. Its very interesting to hear JB funking up DOWN AND OUT IN NEW YORK CITY, which I believe originally came from the country genre. - - JB did one other sountrack by the way... The slightly more action packed and funkier Slaughter's Big Rip Off, featuring Jim Brown. (The song "The Payback" I believe was a reject from one of these films - - it was supposed to be the theme, and was rejected as not funky enough.) Overall, for some reason a lot of die hard JB fans aren't crazy about this album, but I think it was a nice showcase for both JB and Fred Wesley. In fact, a lot of JBs albums featured one or two hard hitting tracks, and a bunch of corn... its the compilations that give you the impression that he was pure funk. This album, compared to some others then, is actually relatively hard hitting. On the other hand, if you haven't dug the James Brown FUNKY PEOPLE compilations... and are really looking for some heavy funk... GO THERE !

According to JB's front man Fred Wesley, James's attitude towards soundtracks was to simply empty the vaults of unreleased material. Some of these substandard tracks surface on "Black Caesar", but fortunately some real classics do, as well. "Down and Out in New York City" and "The Boss" rank with some of Brown's greatest 70's work. Another major problem is that this album is WAY too short (an insulting 36 minutes). Neophytes to Brown are better off with "The Payback" or the "Make it Funky" anthology. Harcore fans will find enough to satisfy.

If you are at all impressed with Mayfield's Superfly, give Black Caesar a listen. This album has it all- heavy hitting chunks of funk like Down and Out in New York City to the laid back pimpin' sounds of Blind Man Can See It. Keep in mind that this album was released within months of the ground breaking Big Payback. Buy this album, then buy Slaughter's Big Rip Off. You won't be disappointed.

Typical hardcore "commin at ya" James Brown & Fred Wesley! It's got the classic JB's sound and funk beat! For the record, this cd doesn't have the version of "Down and Out in NY City" that has the vocal at the begining. Don't let that stop you though. Not as strong as "Slaughter's Big Rip-off" but excellent! If you love "blaxploitation" soundtracks or just James Brown, this is essential.

Why 500 reviews of Radiohead and only 11 of this? I supppose this stuff is a little dated but it is truly a treasure trove of heavily (and nicely) sampled funk cuts - BLIND MAN CAN SEE IT, SPORTIN' LIFE. Similar to alot of what's on MOTHERLODE. Easy to see why they jumped on them - those are some superior moments of funk. Same instruments, same scales but a little more intricate than some of the James Brown megahits. MAMA FEELGOOD is a great uptempo track - the spacing of the instruments makes it move and the rythmn guitar part, while predictable is on the money. THE BOSS is also superb: a slow tune that's driving. Best of all the album is a nice mix of slow and fast, grandiose and mellow and for that it's one to put on and let play.

I know his live performances are incredible and all his hits over the years are essential listening (they can usually be found in any jukebox). 'The Boss' is the only real hit from this album though heaps of samples have been taken from many other songs here and for good reason. I think that as a soundtrack and with help from Fred Wesley, this is one of the most diverse albums on a whole from JB's funkiest era.

Although the film, Black Caesar has its moments, it is James Brown's accompanying sounds that make it move. "Pay the cost to be the boss...Look at me...you know what you see?...you see a Bad Mutha..."

I recently saw this movie on the FLIX cable channel. Buying the soundtrack was an easy choice. I've been buying a lot of James Brown lately. I recommend the compilations "Motherlode" and "In a Jungle Groove" (both remastered!).
There are a lot of excellent JB compilations and remastered albums available. Few of them are bad. The majority are great.
This is a great album.
It's not real long, but damn it's FUNKY. Enjoy.

This is The Godfather at his zenith. By the time of this project, he had already established himself as the kingpin of the funk/soul family. And composing a soundtrack is not like doing an album of all your own material.

He proved why he's considered an American musical giant; as usual, he's dead serious on all his arrangements, covering all the subgenres of R&B. From the ultra funky "Make It Good to Yourself", to the down-home sound of "Dirty Harry", to the hauntingly melodic, "Mama's Dead". This shows James Brown at a 360 degree perspective. You will see sides to his songwriting that you may not see on any of his other recordings. Just for that alone, it is worth getting if you consider yourself interested in his work. It is defintely a milestone in his illustrious musical portfolio.

THIS WILL NOT DISSAPOINT YOU! GREAT MUSIC, SOME GOOD INTRUMENTALS, AND ANN OVERALL BEAUTIFUL SOUNDTRACK, WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HEAR MORE SOUNDTRACKS FROM HIM AND BARRY WHITE. GET THIS SOUNDTRACK!