Traffic Entertainment Group have outdone themselves with their latest soundtrack re-release...the classic "blaxploitation" soundtrack to the 1974 film 'DOLEMITE' starring Rudy Ray Moore!
When I was a kid, I sought long and hard for the soundtrack album to this classic film, so much so, that I had nearly spent $100.00 bucks on my credit card for a vinyl reissue that was available overseas way back when. Needless to say, there wasn't a CD version available at the time. Luckily, my turntable still had some kick to it, and I dubbed a copy of the album onto a cassette tape and played the Hell out of that. Despite hearing the album verbatim, I had always felt like there was something missing at the time. Lo and behold, I was right, and over the past ten years, there have been a few reissues of this funky soundtrack album. Here's the lowdown on the good, the bad, and the fugly...
In 2006, Relapse Records had recognized this funky masterpiece for what it's worth, and had released it onto the CD format. Truth be told, I thought the mastering was rather lame to say the least. You could hear the pops and whistles throughout most of the tracks, not to mention a few of the tracks getting abruptly cut off at the tail end of the song. "Ouch!" Relapse made up for a poor quality restoration by adding bonus tracks to their release, which included the original "Dolemite" theme from the film, featuring the opening narration by Rudy Ray Moore, as well as a few songs from 'The Human Tornado' (the 'Dolemite' sequel) and radio spots for both films. For more information on the Relapse Records release, go here sucka': DolemiteSoundtrack.com
This past year, Traffic has released the original album in an impressive specially designed cardboard sleeve, similar to an LP cover from the vinyl era! The soundtrack has been "faithfully" digitally mastered from the original multi track files, and includes a second bonus CD, which features previously unreleased takes, mixes, a capellas & instrumentals! Honestly, I can't say enough about this wonderful release! The musical talents of Arthur Wright and the Soul Rebellion Orchestra, as well as the Revelation Funk and Mary Love are beautifully realized here, and haven't sounded better! Listening to Ben Taylor's vocals on the "Dolemite" theme song put a really big smile on my face! This is a Dolemite fan's dream come true, and a must for "blaxploitation" lovers everywhere!
For those of you who are hip to the digital age of buying mp3s instead of CDs, you can purchase the "Special Edition" of the 'Dolemite' soundtrack on amazon.com, which features the same tracks as the Traffic release, plus some extra bonus mixes for all you completists out there!
My rating:
2006 Relapse Records CD: 1 star out of 5 stars
2008 R N P Muzak "Special Edition" mp3: 5 stars out of 5 stars
2010 Traffic Entertainment Group 2-CD Set: 5 stars out of 5 stars
For more information on where to buy Rudy Ray Moore merchandise, check out the official website here, fool!: http://www.shockingimages.com/dolemite/merch.php
