Brotherman

BROTHERMAN is the soundtrack to a 1975 blaxploitation film that was never released. The music, recorded by Chicago-based vocal group the Final Solution, draws on soulful group harmony in the vein of Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, while guitarist Carl Wolfolk's unique accompaniment gives the sound its special flavor. Thirty-three years after BROTHERMAN was canceled in production, the Final Solution's soundtrack surfaced--remixed and including two other instrumentals originally intended for the film. The cover art evokes the era, as does the soulful, funky music within.|

An incomplete soundtrack to an abandoned blaxploitation film has limited appeal beyond most avid funk and blaxploitation soundtrack collectors, but Brotherman offers as much substance as most of its actually-released categorical brethren -- while expectedly falling well short of Superfly, Shaft, and Hell Up in Harlem status. Written and performed by a Chicago band with the unfortunate (unintentionally so) name the Final Solution -- which included former members of the Kaldirons, one of the artists featured on the Twinight's Lunar Rotation compilation from Numero's Eccentric Soul series -- the set is modestly constructed, featuring none of the indulgences common in blaxploitation soundtracks. There are no orchestrations, horn sections, or sprawling arrangements, and only "Brotherman" itself contains obvious blaxploitation signifiers, opening with "Runnin' game was his thing," while "Where There's a Will" acts as the requisite self-motivation track. Most of the remainder deals in affairs of the heart. Everything is conveyed with sweet group harmonies and gently churning arrangements where a pleasantly flicking rhythm guitar is a near constant. ~ Andy Kellman