This is, without question, one of the most incredible albums ever to be released & truly solidified Curtis Mayfield’s true genius.
This album broke so much ground that it’s truly scary that it’s concepts were all the workings of one individual. This was the soundtrack to a film and holds the distinction of being one of the precious few sountracks to out gross the film it scored.
The album as reached number 1 on both the R&B & Pop charts, and set such a standard for how soundtracks were to be recorded from that point on. It was truly an artist displaying full mastery of his craft, composing, writing, arranging, producing, singing and performing, Curtis did it all! He had already had a Hall Of Fame career as a member of The Impressions who are one of the most under-appreciated groups of all time! He also has released 3 solo albums previous to this one being “Curtis“; “Roots” and “Curtis Live” that had established him as an undenible force of nature. But this was to be his signature album, you know, the one that from then on we would point back to when giving an example of his absolute greatness.
Tracks
A1 Little Child Running Wild 5:15
A2 Pusherman 4:50
A3 Freddie’s Dead 5:08
A4 Junkie Chase (Instrumental) 1:52
B1 Give Me Your Love (Love Song) 4:15
B2 Eddie You Should Know Better 2:14
B3 No Thing On Me (Cocaine Song) 4:52
B4 Think (Instrumental) 3:44
B5 Superfly 3:51
All the greats have “that” album were everything truly comes together and there’s no denying it’s flawless genius. He was an influence to millions across the world by the time this album and movie were released. The true genius here is that the movie is based upon the life of a “Pusherman” and, in many ways, glorifies that lifestyle. Curtis took the script and turned it on it’s head in such a brilliant and almost subtle way that it’s almost missed.
“Little Child Running Wild” is a perfect example of this, while the film is busy glorifying it’s ghetto prince, Curtis is portrays the terrilbe nature of his condition and how it came to be that way. “Pusherman” is ghetto perfection and more than any other song, gives an expose of life on the streets in the “hood.” It is a perfect fit for the scene in the movie where it appears and is one of the absolute highlights. It would almost seem as if Curtis is glorifying here but if you listen, it’s almost a mockery of the lifestyle and those trapped within it.
The next song is “Freddie’s Dead” and more than any other displays the genius of this man. Freddie’s character has exactly 10 to 15 seconds, if that, at the beginning of the film and as Curtis sings, he’s murdered and thrown on a corner to die. From that small scene, Mr. Mayfield gives us the longest track on the album and tells such a gripping tale with such gorgeous compositions that you truly feel as if you’ve know the man all of his life. And that’s the most profound beauty of this soundtrack, Curtis is telling another story within the story being revealed on screen. You truly would miss his lyrical content within the context of the overall film if it wasn’t there. Like there’s several scenes missing.
There are 2 wonderful instrumental pieces “Junkie Chase” and “Think” both of which shows off Mayfield’s tremendous music composition skills which, to these ears, are second to none. “Give Me Your Love” is as sensual as song as you’ll ever hear and is as hot and steamy as the love scene it played behind in the film. Another crown jewel on the album is “Eddie You Should Know Better“, this song is, in a way, the exact opposite of “Freddie’s Dead” in that Eddie is a main character and truly another sad soul who instead of giving you background information on, Curtis takes the least amount of time to deal with as he is a truly pitiful individual and the song just laments the state he’s ended up in after so many people worked so hard to help him be better.
“No Thing On Me (Cocaine Song) is Curtis giving soulful wisdom, it’s the most telling denunciation of the “ghetto lifestyle” on the album and is as poetic a song as you’ll hear. And the title and closing track, “Superfly“, is another song, which if you give a close listen, not only doesn’t praise the lifestyle but is almost a tongue lashing as the smarts displayed on the streets could be used for something far more benefical to himself and the community at large.
I have stated on several occasions that Mr. Mayfield was the single most under-apprecicated artist of all time. His lyrics, music compositions & vocals and the combination of the 3 were as impressive as anyone in music history & i’d put his albums up against any artist & The Impressions albums up against any groups in any genre from any time period. This truly was his time to shine and shine he did, this album was a game changer and music was the beneficary of it’s wonderful themes and techniques.
Get it here
More of his albums here
