With substantial input from band leader and trombonist Fred Wesley, James Brown’s first soundtrack album presented several examples of the stark, taut funk sound the JBs had perfected by ’72 as well as mellower tracks like ‘Sportin’ Life’ and straight-up soul like the bluesy ‘Like It Is, Like It Was’ or the soft-focus heartbreak of ‘Mama’s Dead.’ Black Caesar also included stone-cold funk classic ‘Mama Feelgood’ from vocalist Lyn Collins. In a discography that ranges from earth-shapingly influential to disappointingly lacklustre, Black Caesar is one of Brown’s stronger and more cohesive efforts. 

– Harold Heath