Quentin Tarantino established himself as one of the few filmmakers to effectively use pop music with his first film
Reservoir Dogs, a movie where the music was integral to the success of the film yet also worked well as a collection of songs.
Jackie Brown,
Tarantino's long-awaited third feature, finds him exploring new territory, creating an homage to blaxploitation flicks as well as a surprisingly subtle character study and love story, and its soundtrack appropriately finds him in new territory as well. The soundtrack still features snippets of dialogue, which simply aren't as effective separated from the film as those from Pulp Fiction, but the unified collection of '70s soul and funk is refreshing. He has wisely selected a batch of songs that haven't been worn out by oldies radio, building the bulk of the album with cult favorites like
Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street,"
Bill Withers' "Who Is He (And What Is He to You?),"
Randy Crawford's "Street Life,"
Minnie Riperton's "Inside My Love," the Vampire Sound Inc.'s "The Lions and the Cucumber" and
Pam Grier's "Long Time Woman." Only "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time," "Strawberry Letter 23" and "Natural High," as well as
the Grass Roots' "Midnight Confessions," are familiar oldies items, but they play an integral part in the film itself and help make the soundtrack a thoroughly enjoyable, compulsively listenable experience. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine