A soundtrack album as inconsistent as the film itself. There's some filler here, but it's mostly modern hard bop by an all-star band - in addition to Blanchard and Marsalis, there's Kenny Kirkland, Robert Hurst, and Tain Watts. This band (minus Blanchard) would go on to be members of The Tonight Show Band when Jay Leno took over in '92. Of course, the best music in the movie is John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, but that masterpiece will have to wait for its appearance on this blog. Rumor has it that Coltrane's widow, Alice, denied Spike Lee the use of the title "A Love Supreme" as that's what Lee wanted to call the movie.
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard Top 200: #63
- Billboard R&B: #21
Tracks: There's a nice take on Harlem Blues with vocals by Cynda Williams. The Marsalis originals Say Hey and Beneath The Underdog are also solid. Spike Lee's father, Bill, composed and contributed two good tracks: the ballad Again Never and the catchy, bluesy title track. The filler tunes are Pop Top 40 (featuring raps by Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes) and Jazz Thing, which features the hip hop duo Gang Starr. To be fair, Jazz Thing isn't really a bad track, it is just terribly out of place on this album.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. It's been a while since I've watched this movie. I should probably see it again. If I recall, Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes did a pretty good job of looking like they could actually play their instruments.
Previously revisited for the blog:
Terence Blanchard - Let's Get Lost (2001)
Branford Marsalis - I Heard You Twice The First Time (1992)
Branford Marsalis - Romances for Saxophone (1986)
Stumbled across your efforts to listen to your ENTIRE CD collection. Amusing, informative, and nostalgic. I am also a middle-aged man on a quest to revisit his music collection. I am burning all my CDs to AAC (apple ipod) format. 1322 CDs is the rolling count, only about 50 CDs and I will be done (from the picture your collection looks more like 2000 CDs). I bought the largest iPod (classic 160 GB) and I think I'm going to just squeeze all my CDs on. It has been a blast listening to them on random shuffle, I hear things I forgot I even had, and enjoy it all. Growing up on AOR (Album Oriented Rock) I appreciate all the "non"-hits as well as the hits. Will be following your progress, good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. I agree: there's nothing like rediscovering a long forgotten deep cut when it comes up on shuffle. I think that's the main reason we replaced our LPs with CDs.
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