Soul Power
Soul Power documents an important part of rock music’s chronology that amazingly has been shelved for 35 years and only came to light when researchers were looking for footage for the 1996 documentary When We Were Kings. In 1974 Don King wasn’t the oily, obnoxious crook many today claim him to be but a promoter with the genius and vision to combine a heavyweight title fight and music festival and then talk a tin pot African dictator into financing it. The country was Zaire and the fight was between champion George Foreman and underdog challenger Muhammad Ali. That documentary showed the profound effect that visiting his roots had on Ali. Here too the champ expresses his feelings while also charmingly poking white America in the eye but he was not the only African American so moved. Just prior to the title fight the music festival featuring among others The Crusaders, Miriam Makeba, BB King, Bill Withers, The Spinners and the piece de resistance James Brown. Seeing these chart toppers of their day immersed in their heritage and interacting with their ancestral cousins (and sometimes Ali himself) is quite moving. And then there are the amazing performances of these legends in their prime. Don’t be tempted to wait for the DVD release. This is something that should be enjoyed in front of a theatre screen and sound system for maximum sonic enjoyment.