Heavyweight vinyl edition of the blaxploitation classic

One of the few surviving links to the pre-Soul/R&B era, Bobby Womack – who was originally discovered as a teenager singing Gospel music by the late Sam Cooke – nowadays enjoys full-blown “Living Legend” status. Blessed with one of the warmest, most readily-identifiable voices in Soul music, he carved out his reputation with a series of classic albums and singles in the early 70s, re-emerging again in the 80s with his career masterpieces, The Poet and The Poet II, the latter achieving platinum status in Europe alone.

Across 110th Street (1972) is the iconic, award-winning original soundtrack to, the critically acclaimed – albeit violent, bloodthirsty and deeply disturbing – Blaxploitation movie which starred Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto and Anthony Franciosa. Perhaps Womack’s most celebrated album, this compelling OST remains the most important soundtrack of the genre, the powerful title song later featuring heavily in both Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 homage to Blaxploitation, Jackie Brown, and Ridley Scott’s 2007 opus, American Gangster.

Womack has enjoyed a long, rich career and still retains a strong cult status in the UK and Europe. He continues to record and tour sporadically and after battling ill-health in recent years, a new album is scheduled for release in June. The album is co-produced by Damon Albarn and Richard Russell, who also produced Gil Scott Heron\’s acclaimed final album.