Curtis Mayfield - Superfly

MINE

While most people would know the title track of this album, or Freddie's Dead, the other hit, it's Pusherman that just stays with me.  "I'm your mother I'm your daddy/ I'm that nigga in the alley" all sung in those breathy, high, sweet and rounded tones that made Curtis Mayfield the great artist he was.  Its driving beats accompanied by deceptively simple-sounding arrangements make it, for me, the pinnacle track of this album. 

I truly can't remember ever seeing this movie, but the soundtrack is well known as a peak funk experience.  And I'm a girl who likes her music funky.  On the one, guys.  I do remember having a friend call me when he heard Curtis had died, and mooning around depressed for the rest of the day.  I also remember being overjoyed to discover his last-ever recording, when YourZ introduced me to Bran Van 3000. 

I had to search high and low for this album and it was well worth the search.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Superfly is our first soundtrack review and what a soundtrack it is too.  Unlike most soundtracks, this is wholly penned by the late, truly great Curtis Mayfield.  The movie's a fairly standard blaxploitation film about a drug dealer trying to make one last big score before getting out of the business.  However, it's Mayfield's soundtrack, long since considered a classic, that highlights his status as one of the pioneers of the burgeoning funk sound, and which elevated it well above the limited popularity and scope of the film.  But more so, he used the soundtrack to highlight social issues of African-Americans at the time, a brave and pioneering move in itself, considering the time it was created.

Superfly features his superb falsetto, deft, layered arrangements and lush production and only serves to detail his prodigious talent.  If viewed as a piece of art, this would be considered a masterpiece by an artist at his peak.  There were only a few others who could match Mayfield's output at this time but none had their finger so clearly on the pulse of the street as he did.

It's a tragedy his life ended as it did, with the great man flat on his back and unable to play any of the instruments he so loved.  We are fortunate we have a copy of the last song he recorded vocals for (as mentioned in our review of BranVan3000's Discosis).  But as a testament to him, you can't go past Superfly. And nor should you.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://curtismayfield.com/

Bran Van 3000 - Discosis

YOURZ

This is a genre-hopping masterpiece and, prior to Mine and YourZ (truly) discovering Dusted by Katalyst (see the review here), this album was THE choice party-starter.  In fact, I remember going to a backyard BBQ a number of years ago where the only album played all night was this one, on repeat.  Everything else simply paled into insignificance against it.

As Mine mentions below, it features one of last tracks Curtis Mayfield ever recorded and, while this is a stunning song, is one of large number of stunners on Discosis (whose guest list also includes Eek-A-Mouse, Dimitri from Paris, Youssou N'dour and Badar Ali Khan, among others).  And believe me, there's a lot to pick from, with songs for all moods and flavours.  It really is a crowd pleaser.  And the Boris Vallejo cover art is icing on the cake.

Now the real question is why we don't own their third release, Rosé?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP


MINE

When YourZ first introduced me to Bran Van 3000, shortly after we first began our relationship, I was gobsmacked.  Not just because of the quality that shines through Discosis, but because I had never heard of them before.  Now that may seem a bit egotistic, but at the time I was an avid purchaser of music magazines and worked quite closely with the radio industry.

Anyway, this album became a firm favourite as soon as I heard it, and it's now on my list of CDs-to-be-replaced immediately - should an apocalypse visit our current collection.  The opening song features one of my favourite singers - Curtis Mayfield - recorded shortly before he died.  For those of you who don't know, Curtis (who wrote Superfly, one of the best soundtrack albums of all time) was paralysed from the neck down after a lighting rig hit him in 1990.  He recorded the vocals for Astounded like he did all of the songs on his last album - lying flat on his back.  And if you've never heard that song, listen to it NOW.  It changed my life, maybe it'll change yours.

The main point about Discosis though is that all the songs are different.  REALLY different.  They're catchy and cool, the album is loooooong and also features the wildly gorgeous voice of Senegal's Youssou N'Dour.  Divine.  And it contains one of our favourite songs - we picked Love Cliché to lead off the soundtrack to our wedding video.

VERDICT:TURN IT UP (ain't no party like a Bran Van party)


For more information: http://www.last.fm/music/Bran+Van+3000


In our collection, we also have Glee