Savage! Super Soul Soundtrack finds
Don Julian abandoning his
doo wop roots with
the Larks to construct a score for this limited-run cult
blaxploitation release. While one could easily assume he was emulating the career moves of several other successful
R&B producers (
Isaac Hayes,
Curtis Mayfield, and
Willie Hutch had already started to make a name for themselves scoring
blaxploitation films),
Julian was taking a more traditional approach to scoring than his colleagues.
Savage! most definitely finds its strength in small segues and incidentals, rather than properly arranged songs. However, this should not deter you from listening by any means. There's an art in gaining maximum impact from a minimal amount of instruments and timbres, and
Julian does it effortlessly. ~ Rob Theakston
