Customer Reviews

Malcolm X: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack

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

 

 

Indeed, the soundtrack from the motion picture Malcolm X achieves its goal in capturing the music of the great Muslim leader's childhood and adult years. But lacking from the soundtrack is Sam Cooke's beautifully orchestrated song "A Change is Gonna Come," an inspirational civil rights anthem that is featured near the end of director Spike Lee's masterpiece but for some reason is not on the CD. This soundtrack would surely be worthy of a five-star rating if it weren't for this glaring omission.

This CD gives a varied overview of the genres of Black music. Some of this covers Malcolm X's adolesence in the 40s with tunes by the Ink Spots, Billie Holiday, Joe Turner, Lionel Hampton, and Louis Jordan's comic masterpiece "Beans And Cornbread." Then we fast forward to Malcolm's heyday in the early 60s with songs like the atmospheric "Alabama " by John Coltrane and Ray Charles' version of "That Lucky Old Sun." Jr. Walker's "Shotgun," which was very popular in the Black community in Feb. 1965 when Malcolm was killed. Aretha Franklin 's version of Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All be Free" does justice to the original and the Arrested Development's "Revolution" symbolizes the connection of 1990s Black youth with Malcolm X (the obvious choice to do this, Public Enemy, bowed out of the making of this soundtrack due to their ties with the Nation of Islam, who were not pleased with their portrayal in this film, but that's another story). Overall, this soundtrack provides a good panorama of Black music history. Listen, learn, and enjoy.

Aretha Franklin really Shines on SOmeday we'll all be free.the Voice&The Vibe of the Music are both very moving.Louis Jordan's Great Cleaver Beans&Cornbread is timeless.he combines alot of styles with that Jam.The Soundtrack is Really Good.Check out Terrence Blanchard's Score.

Most movie soundtrack albums include incidental orchestral music, while some have excerpts of actual film dialog. The soundtrack to MALCOLM X has none of this. The set opens with an Arrested Development political piece written especially for the film, then follows a logical musical and stylistic progression from the early 40s (swing), right through to the year of Malcolm's murder, 1965 (soul), and finally closes out with an overlong gospelish Aretha Franklin track.

The MALCOLM X soundtrack was given an average rating because its bookends (particularly the opening number) ill-fit the majority of the program-- just as Spike Lee's epilogue politicking (with young children declaring themselves to be Malcolm X) adds little to a well-told story.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 49:59

The cassette tape with UPC 093624513049 contains the following tracks:

1. Revolution - Arrested Development
2. Roll 'Em Pete - Joe Turner
3. Flying Home - Lionel Hampton
4. My Prayer - The Ink Spots
5. Big Stuff - Billie Holiday
6. Don't Cry Baby - Erskine Hawkins
7. Beans and Cornbread - Louis Jordan
8. Azure - Ella Fitzgerald
9. Alabama - John Coltrane
10. That Lucky Old Sun Just Rolls Around Heaven - Ray Charles
11. Arabesque Cookie - Duke Ellington
12. Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All Stars
13. Someday We'll All Be Free - Aretha Franklin

This soundtrack is a wonderful compilation of the songs in the wonderful movie, Malcolm X, starring the wonderful lead actor, Denzel Washington! Did I mention it was wonderful?

The greatest strength of this CD is the sheer variety of material - from the hip-hop resembling "Revolution" to John Coltrane's "Alabama." This is a very solid CD with an excellent sampling. Highly recommended.