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Curtis

Curtis Mayfield - Curtis Audio CD

A fair review of the Curtis Mayfield "Curtis" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Curtis Mayfield reviews here, or go back to the Curtis Mayfield tabs.

Band: Curtis Mayfield
Title: Curtis
Rating:

Release Date: 2000-08-15
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: (Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go 2: Other Side of Town 3: Makings of You 4: We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue 5: Move on Up 6: Miss Black America 7: Wild and Free 8: Give It Up 9: Power to the People [#][*][Demo Version] 10: Underground [*][Demo Version] 11: Ghetto Child [#][*][Demo Version] 12: Readings in Astrology [*][Demo Version] 13: Suffer [*][Demo Version] 14: Miss Black America [#][*][Demo Version] 15: Makings of You [Backing Tracks, Take 32][#][*] 16: (Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go [Backi [Ba 17: (Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go [Edite [Ed

Pure Poetry
Simply said, Curtis Mayfield is the most underrated & underappreciated artist of the 20th century period! I was looking at Rolling Stones list of the "100 Greatest Artist of All Time" list recently and it has Curtis listed at #99!

Now, that's a ridiculous placement anyway you look at it, but, if you read it and see who they've got ahead of him, it's down right criminal!!!! Now, i'm fully aware of the ridiculous bias of Rolling Stone Magazine towards the beatles, elvis, etc. , but to place this man in the 99th position out of 100 is insane!!

He was one of the truest poets to ever pick up the pen and his songs are true reflections of the man, where he & the world were at that moment & where he hoped they both we would be in the end. He struck a cord with the youth of the day and like Maurice White, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder & Bob Dylan, spoke of the injustices and bigotry of that day in a clear and concise manner that was unavoidable while offering hope through mutual love & respect.

"Curtis" is his 1st solo release after having already established his Genius in the Impressions. It is one of the most moving albums i've ever heard and every bit as good as the albums of that day and shows this man was every bit the writer as the above mentioned Avatars of Music history.

Classics such as "If there's a Hell Below, We're all Gonna Go", "Making of You" "Miss Black America" & my personal favorite "We People Who Are Darker Than Blue" shows this was a man who "Dug Deep" within to bring forth such pure mastery of music composition.

I highly recommend this album to anyone as it was one of those classics that would forever change the face of music and began a incredible decade for one of the most incredible artist of any kind in the 20th century. Rest In Peace my brother Curtis, you've earned your crown!.

Classic you don't hear about enough
I'm new to Mayfield and so far I have to agree that this sounds like his best solo stuff, from the material I've heard. Or maybe it's just me? I've been enjoying this a great deal lately. It's already one of my faves of the 70s, it has that beautiful, lush and warm sound of that era and simply top-notch instrumentation, perhaps best heard on Darker than blue and If there's hell. More essential than most "classics".

I personally love the line "Educated fools from uneducated schools. " This covers most people out there, whether its music reviewers selling you the supremacy of the Beatles, those who can't see the power behind puppet presidents and govts, those who still fall prey to the controlled media on a daily basis. Yep, if there's hell below we're all going to go.

A beautiful artist and a great album... listen to the message!
Indeed, Curtis was a tremendous singer, a brilliant composer. Lots of people say (and I agree) that Curtis Mayfield's importance in American music is yet to be fully recognized. . . and a man with a beautiful message. MOVE ON UP, for example, is a unique song about growing, evolving and maturing among adversity, ignorance and hatred. This song still leaves me amazed by its message.

But this album has many other gems: WE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DARKER THAN BLUE, THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN and THE MAKINGS OF YOU are three of my favorite tracks (and they show another side of Curtis: the great lyricist). They are amazing reflections on life during that turbulent era in America: The Civil Rights Movement, the 60's, poverty, etc. And Curtis puts so much soul into his music, one can instantly relate to all that. That's his unique power!

This CD comes with nine bonus tracks with demos, backing tracks AND my favorite track: a BEAUTIFUL backing track (instrumental) version of THE MAKINGS OF YOU. Listen to this and the be amazed by the beauty of the arrangement. It's stunning that such great music was ever produced!

I listen to an album like this and feel sad thinking about all the trash being produced today. We should all go back to Curtis and celebrate him.

This CD is a gem!.

GHETTO GOSPEL
OFTEN PLAYED IN MY COLLECTION AND I SHOULD HAVE REVIEWED THIS MASTERPIECE EARLIER ON. I WAS A YOUNG GUY ,WHEN THIS ALBUM CAME OUT ,BUT IT LEFT A LASTING IMPRESSION ON ME THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. EVERY WORD SPOKEN FROM THIS MAN'S MOUTH,IS ON POINT WITH WHAT BLACK AMERICA STILL FACES TODAY!
THIS CD RANKS HIGH AND IS THE COMPANION PIECE TO MARVIN GAYE'S WHAT'S GOIN ON. MR. CURTIS MAYFIELD WAS A BRILLIANT SONGWRITER AND MUSICIAN AND THIS LANDMARK RECORDING WILL CONTINUE TO GET PLAYED FOR YEARS TO COME,
ESSENTIAL TO YOUR SOUL COLLECTION. . . . . . . TIMELESS.

(4.5 stars) Visionary and uplifting!
I don't think it stacks up with What's Going on or Riot, but that's by no fault of its own: after all, those two albums are among the best ever created, and even then I think the uplifting Latin-funk-R&B epic "Move on Up" is a better song than anything on either of those albums, and that Curtis Mayfield is a better lyricist than either Sly or Marvin: check out his commentary on racism "The Other Side of Town" and the apocalyptic "Don't Worry (If There's Hell Below, We're all Going to Go)", which just may have the best introduction ever: Curtis intoning in an echoey voice, as if he's on the top of a mountain, "Don't worry! If there's hell below, we're all going to go!", then launches into a total Isaac Hayes-like drama with strings, horns, wah-wah guitars, keyboards, you name it. Curtis Mayfield's solo debut, and his entry in the "1971 Socially Conscience R&B Album" sweepstakes (other entries include There's a Riot Goin' On and What's Going On ). Now that's a song: if it weren't for "Move on Up" (nine minutes, and I can't imagine it any shorter! Just listen to that percussion solo! It's good stuff! And it's also great to hear a song as uplifting as that in a day where mindless violence is endorsed by so many bands), "Don't Worry" would be the best song on the album. It's the total opposite of "Move on Up", of course: the message there is if we don't get our act together, we're all gonna die! Few managed to balance such opposing emotions on the same albums: to bring back the Sly Stone comparison, it took him two years to follow the optimistic Stand! with the bleak There's a Riot Goin' on. Plus, Mayfield has fun with song structure, as on "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue", which again takes on racism: here he starts it with a smooth, cinematic R&B section, which transitions into hard funk and back into smooth R&B. And "Miss Black America" is a wonderful love song. There are a couple lapses: I know "The Makings of You" is extremely popular, but I find its strings and harp saccharine and overly sticky; "Wild and Free" has a horn riff right out of a bad game show. So while it's not as good as my favorite Mayfield album, Superfly, Curtis' talents as a singer, songwriter and guitarist are on display here.

You can see a complete list of all Curtis Mayfield discography, or go back to the Curtis Mayfield tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.