Together Brothers

Together Brothers – Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra

Pye Records – 1974

The steamy summer of 1974 Galveston, Texas is the backdrop for this Blaxplotation Classic, starring Lincoln Kilpatrick as “Billy Most” a misunderstood, troubled, cross dressing ex-con, who misguidedly obsesses over yearning to birth, suckle, nurture and rear his own progeny. Yet, due to obvious gender issues, is rendered incapable and sublimates by kidnapping a young Black boy to call his own.

The missing boy however has attachments to a community of teen youths, led by H.J. “Ahmad Nurradin” and four of his fellow “soul brothers and one “Good-Cop”, “Mr. Kool”, played by Ed Bernard of “Police Story-circa 1974”.

The storyline, though choppy and mellow dramatic; offers a very unreal and real snapshot of 1970’s Urban America. Big Afros, Race Based Slang, tube tops, Hip-Hugger Pants, Run-Down Shanties, Drugs, Pimps and assorted other stereotypes depicting the plight or making fun of a world left standing untouched in the wake of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement.

As a jumping off point, “Mr. Kool” a mentor to “The Brothers” is brutally murdered by our antagonist, as he rescues the young boy who is subsequently rendered unable to speak. That is where our young vigilante group “The Brothers” band together to identify the killer and assist the police, by any means necessary.

Barry White’s soundtrack to the 1974 blaxploitation film Together Brothers doesn’t match the quality of classic efforts like Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly, Isaac Hayes’ Shaft, or Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man, but it is an appealing and welcome release all the same. Mayfield’s and Gaye’s soundtracks, in particular, benefited from solid material throughout, whereas White’s soundtrack does suffer from some plodding moments; “You Got Case” and “Stick Up” recycle past funk grooves, while the main theme “Somebody Is Gonna Off the Man” is ineffectively reconfigured throughout. An eerie, Morricone-style whistling and harp interlude on “Killer’s Lullaby” intrigues at first but falters with a thin arrangement. The lightness of tone and many string-laden numbers on Together Brothers shouldn’t be a surprise, though, since they reflect White’s romantic soul style: ghetto streets flowing with champagne. In fact, on a majority of the tracks, White’s spacious and silky arrangements and the Love Unlimited Orchestra’s adroit backing are substantial enough to offset the album’s weaker moments. The vocal version of “Somebody Is Gonna Off the Man” and the soundtrack’s one hit “Honey, Please Can’t You See” are classic examples of White’s pop-soul style, while mood numbers like “So Nice to Hear” and “Can’t Seem to Find Him” benefit from strong and varied arrangements; the latter features an effective three-way collage of funk, noir ambience, and orchestral bombast. Together Brothers is a must for dedicated White fans and a respectable title in the blaxploitation soundtrack catalog.

This album has been sampled by everyone from Quad City Dj’s for “C’mon ride the train” to Oc for his classsic “My world”,  Jeru the Damaja for “Too perverted” to Lil Wayne for “Bill Gates”…and a host of others.

you can get this great album for a steal here,

Or

HERE

@320.

Enjoy.