Booker T. Jones – Up Tight (OST)

Through the score of Booker T. Jones, the soundtrack to the 1968 Jules Dassin movie Uptight reflects the story of a young black man living in the ghetto during the turbulent time after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Containing the hit single ‘Time Is Tight,’ the soundtrack moves from soft and contemplative (‘Children, Don’t Get Weary’) to driving and urgent (‘Run Tank Run’). Though not one of Booker T. & the MG’s’ better albums, Uptight does contain the always exemplary musicianship that the MG’s brought to their records, and it predates both the Superfly and Shaft soundtracks by three years. ~ Steve Kurutz