Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (soundtrack)
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles' 1971 feature film of the same name. The soundtrack was performed by then-unknown Earth, Wind & Fire and released in 1971 on Stax Records. To attract publicity for the film without spending significant money, the soundtrack was released before the movie; it performed well, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart.[1][5]
| Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | June 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Funk, soul | |||
| Length | 37:28 | |||
| Label | Stax | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Melvin Van Peebles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [1] |
| Billboard | (favourable)[2] |
| UDiscover Music | (favourable)[3] |
| Record Collector | (favourable)[4] |
Overview edit
As a soundtrack the album was ranked at No. 32 on Mojo's "MOJO 1000 – The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide".[6]
Critical reception edit
Ian McCann of udiscovermusic.com found "Today, though, you couldn’t find a record, soundtrack, or otherwise, as freewheelin’ and funky as this." With a 3.5 out of 5 stars review, Richie Unterberger of AllMusic wrote "Heard on its own, the soundtrack, unlike Super Fly or Shaft, is not a significant musical achievement. It's serviceable period funk-soul, both instrumental and vocal, sprinkled with some dialog from the film". Jamie Atkins of Record Collector found the soundtrack is "Well worth checking out."[3][4][1]
Track listing edit
Side One edit
- "Sweetback Losing His Cherry" (2:45)
- "Sweetback Getting It Uptight And Preaching It So Hard The Bourgeois Reggin Angels In Heaven Turn Around (5:00)
- "Come On Feet Do Your Thing" (4:15)
- "Sweetback's Theme" (7:36)
Side Two edit
- "Hoppin' John" (2:25)
"Voices" (0:11) - "Mojo Woman" (2:43)
"Voices" (0:15) - "Sanra Z" (3:47)
"Voices" (0:17) - "Reggins Hanging On In There As Best They Can" (2:58)
"Voices" (1:13) - "Won't Bleed Me" (2:41)
- "The Man Tries Running His Usual Game but Sweetback's Jones Is So Strong He Wastes the Hounds (Yeah! Yeah! and Besides That He Will Be Comin' Back Takin' Names and Collecting Dues)" (4:25)
References edit
- ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "Melvin Van Peebles: Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
- ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard Magazine. Vol. 83, no. 20. May 15, 1971. p. 55.
- ^ a b McCann, Ian (June 3, 2023). "'Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song': How Melvin Van Peebles Lit The Blaxploitation Fire". udiscovermusic.com. UDiscover Music.
- ^ a b Atkins, Jamie (July 18, 2017). "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song; Melvin Van Peebles". recordcollectormag.com. Record Collector.
- ^ . billboard.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022.
- ^ "MOJO 1000 – The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide". Rocklist.net.