| Wed. 02 02. 2005 12:00 AM EST
Our Music Lists are meant to be fun combinations of albums or single tracks, and sometimes they help spotlight titles that are overlooked. Inspired by Black History Month and juiced by the upcoming Oscars celebration, we've chosen 15 great soundtracks made by African-American musicians. From Miles Davis to Timbaland, they capture a fully individual artistic essence. See which one speaks loudest to
Stevie Wonder: Jungle Fever Wonder's suite for Spike Lee's interracial romance is one of his best works of the decade. Ballads like "These Three Words" got the romance right, while funkier jams suggested the simmering tensions and contradictions that surrounded the young lovers. James Brown: Black Caesar The Godfather was late in jumping on the blaxsploitation bandwagon, but he brought every iota of his own bad self to the music. When Fred Williamson's street kingpin expires in a hail of bullets, JB is there, sneering, "Ain't it good to be the boss." Prince: Purple Rain Prince's genius went nuclear on his film autobiography. Delivering R&B gems like "Let's Go Crazy" and "When Doves Cry," the Minneapolis master is at his creative zenith - teasing, pouting, and then, on the title track, playing his heart out. Isaac Hayes: Shaft Hayes created the modern soundtrack by setting the black private dick's adventures to rhythms that were freaky (19 minutes of "Do Your Thing!"), funny ("Shut your mouth!"), and perfectly of their time. Often imitated, never bettered. Miles Davis: Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud The poignant sound of the trumpeter's horn brings an air of eloquence to Louis Malle's valentine to the sophisticated side of crime. The noir-ish tone of this Paris murder mystery is made more vivid by Davis's bustling swing and molten laments. Above the Rim Dre was the lord RZA: Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai When Jim Jarmusch transplanted the bushido code to America's mean street, Wu-Tanger RZA was an obvious choice to create the cinematic soundscape. A true sensei, he tested Forrest Whitaker's lonely warrior with spectral strings and grimy hip-hop. Marvin Gaye: Trouble Man Ivan Dixon (of Hogan's Heroes fame) directed this badass flick in the shadow of Shaft, and Gaye's moody strings and bedrock funk perfectly fit the ruff-tuff street scenes. Pure R&B atmosphere. Duke Ellington: Anatomy of a Murder Sexy swagger that matches Lee Remick's sensuality, feisty bravado that enhances Ben Gazzara's anger - Ellington's score for this Otto Preminger treat is utterly evocative. The story's plot twists are many, and the maestro has a sound to suit each. Curtis Mayfield: Superfly Mayfield's use of ominous strings and deep-assed funk gave Gordon Parks' story - a drug dealer struggling to remove himself from the streets - plenty of tension and release. The hits are indelible, and the incidental tracks are almost as dope. Round Midnight Dexter Gordon plays a dissipated jazz dude winding out his last years in the cafes of Paris, and Hancock's choice of tunes - "The Peacocks," "Body and Soul" - give the situation the introspective aura it deserves. Gordon's sax sound defines the blues. Juice Black street culture and the pressures of urban life are driven home by this debut from Spike Lee's cinematographer, Ernest Dickerson. The hip-hop soundtrack flows from Rakim's menacing rhymes to Too Short's witty jibes to EPMD's fawnky jeep beats. Waiting to Exhale The precarious nature of modern romance is scrutinized in Forest Whitaker's buppie love story. Virtuosic vocals from Whitney, Brandy, Aretha and Mary J. makes all that relationship drama and boo-hoo angst a bit easier to take. |
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