Varèse Sarabande release Quincy Jones's score to '70s miniseries Roots. The show is a historical portrait of American slavery recounting the journey of one family’s will to survive, endure and ultimately carry on their legacy despite enormous hardship and inhumanity. Spanning multiple generations, the lineage begins with young Kunta Kinte, who is captured in his homeland of The Gambia and transported in brutal conditions to colonial America, where he’s sold into slavery. Throughout the series, the family continues to face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in U.S. history, including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings and eventual emancipation...

No doubt released to capitalise on this year's (2016) remake of Roots, this soundtrack revisits Quincy Jones's '70s score along with some of the show's songs.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of either Gospel singing, nor the style of songs on this album. However, I was prepared to approach this with an open mind and played it numerous times trying to get my head around it. I loved parts of Jones's score for The Color Purple, but I really couldn't get on with Roots. I think mainly because it sounds, in the main like a primitive musical full of poor Gospel songs.

Fans of the original series will probably enjoy this album, but it's a very niche market and certainly isn't an album that is easy to get on with.

The album contains 17 tracks (27 min, 40 sec).

5

Darren Rea