T/S: Superfly vs. Curtis

Saw Super Fly on a big screen today. Obviously a brilliant soundtrack but it sounded kind of murky in this context, like more so than on the record or CD. This appeared to be an old 35mm print, and I started to think a remaster would be a good idea.

Hadn’t realized that you don’t hear the “Freddie’s Dead” vocal in the film, just the instrumental part. You do see Freddie die though.

how many film soundtracks like SuperFly are out there? by which I mean: an amazing collection of tunes that are written for, but are not directly involved with the movie (so like, not for a musical or anything), that also works as its own standalone album? only thing that comes to mind for me is that band that wrote a bunch of songs for The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

To Live & Die in LA maybe?

other curtis albums...

short eyes
let's do it again
sparkle (to a lesser extent, but close enough...)

Does it have to be a single artist?
The Harder They Come could work.

I would say yes because what makes SuperFly unique is it fits pretty snugly in Curtis's own catalogue. as a standalone thing you probably wouldn't suspect it was a soundtrack

how many film soundtracks like SuperFly are out there? by which I mean: an amazing collection of tunes that are written for, but are not directly involved with the movie (so like, not for a musical or anything), that also works as its own standalone album? only thing that comes to mind for me is that band that wrote a bunch of songs for The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

Oh that is a good one!

Other single artist original soundtracks that could work as albums:

Miles Davis - Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
Badly Drawn Boy - About a Boy
Explosions in the Sky - Friday Night Lights
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Shudder to Think - First Love, Last Rites
Seu Jorge - the Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - She’s the one

Not sure how well they worked removed from the movie but both Suspiria original (Goblin) and remake (Thom Yorke) soundtracks are by a single artist and are good.

Until the End of the World comes to mind, to frogbs' original question.

I would suggest More by Pink Floyd, one of my favorite Floyd albums

Obscured By Clouds!

Never seen either film so no idea how much of the album is actually used in the soundtrack.

would Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson count?

I think all of the Floyd music on their More album is also used in the film, if not exactly the same takes

Never seen either film so no idea how much of the album is actually used in the soundtrack.

In La Vallée, not a huge amount of screen time, though most of the songs are heard at some point. For instance "Free Four" is briefly playing on an onscreen radio.

there were a lot of blaxploitation soundtracks like that, tho i am a little confused by "not directly involved with the movie (so like, not for a musical or anything)"

isaac hayes' shaft is a big one. willie hutch's the mack, marvin gaye's trouble man, and bobby womack's across 110th street are others. shaft and the latter two do have some instrumental incidentals that might give away that it's a soundtrack and not just a regular entry in a discography (the mack does too, i guess, but only one or two).

i am a little confused by "not directly involved with the movie (so like, not for a musical or anything)"

I took this to mean the songs are not seen to be performed "diegetically" in the fictional world.

Saturday Night Fever is basically this. Five all-new tracks by The Bee Gees (one w/ lead vocal by Yvonne Ellman).

And crucial to The Bee Gees’ discography

Oh yeah that’s a good call

symphonic suite akira by geinoh yamoshirogumi? sadly unavailable on streaming platforms.

electric flag's soundtrack for corman's the trip (the best thing they ever did)

an amazing collection of tunes that are written for, but are not directly involved with the movie (so like, not for a musical or anything), that also works as its own standalone album

Really, couldn't most popular music or song-based soundtracks qualify (based on one's appreciation of the artist)?
Very few are dependant upon the film for significance or meaning. The big exception would be largely instrumental background music by artists who normally specialize in songs, but even in that case they can be accepted as part of the artist's canon (like Gabriel's Passion for example).