Coffy (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

iTunes Review

Roy Ayers’ music for the Pam Grier revenge saga Coffy can be heard 30-plus years after its debut as a textbook in blaxploitation soundtrack work. Ayers’ much admired vibraphone work is at the center of titles such as “Brawling Broads” and “Shining Symbol” (of black pride and a new breed, as its lyrics describe Coffy), but he puts a wide range of musical interests to the task here. “Aragon” and “Escape” are fine examples of the meld of funk and action-movie music Isaac Hayes had perfected for Shaft, while Ayers lives up to the self-explanatory titles of “Coffy Sauna” and “Making Love.” The album ends with striking harpsichord (“Vittroni’s Theme – King is Dead”) and skronk-guitar (“End of Sugarman”) moments that are evocative of early-’70s Spanish vampire film music that Ayers likely hadn’t heard.