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Posted (edited)

No ROOTS yet (any day now), but I got a package from Dusty Groove today with (among other things) this little tidbit in it...

mayfie_curt_backtothe_101b.jpg

The tune "Right On For The Darkness" is 7:28 of absolute pure heaven!! :wub::wub:

LOTS to like on this album, even if it only clocks in at something like 36 minutes. (Wish there was a Rhino edition, with bonus material.) In any case, it was only $10 from Dusty, so I'm a happy camper. :)

Edited by Rooster_Ties
  • 2 months later...
Posted

Been really diggin' all the Curtis I've been pickin' up over the last couple months -- and I'm sure I'll pick up a few more before I'm done.

Workin' on a 79-minute "artist overview" CDR to burn of Mayfield's output, for roadtrips and such. Sort of a combo "greatest hits" and "overlooked gems" kinda thing.

I'm probably gonna stick with stuff he recorded around 1975 and earlier. Haven't heard (or sampled) anything of his after 1976 that floats my boat all that much.

Hey, has "Sweet Exorcist" (from the post right above this one), ever been released on CD anywhere?? The AMG says Charly had it out on CD in 1995, but I can't remember seeing it on CD anywhere in all my recent on-line searching (including a month of eBay searches). Watch, I haven't searched specifically for that title in about a week -- and somebody will come in here in the next 20 minutes with links to like four of them, making a fool out of me like usual. :P

Thanks!!

  • 7 months later...
Posted

I've got these on their way to me in the mail, as I type...

mayfie_curt_sweetexor_102b.jpgimpressions_thisismyc_102b.jpg

Curtis Mayfield -- Sweet Exorcist / Got To Find A Way . . . CD . . . $11.99

Curtom/Snapper (UK), 1974 Condition: New Copy

A Curtis Mayfield double-header -- totally great all the way through! Sweet Exorcist is a wonderfully wicked album from Curtis -- one that's not nearly as famous as his Superfly set, but which is every bit as great! The groove here is lean, mean, and totally righteous -- a bit more stripped-down than some of the rumbling funk of other Curtom efforts, and served up with a fluid groove that makes the album a killer from start to finish! As with Superfly, there's a nice blend here between uptight funky tracks and some more laidback soul -- showcasing both sides of the Curtis Mayfield sound of the 70s -- the brash society-changing soul, and the mellower, more fragile voice that first came to prominence in The Impressions. Titles alone tell you the vibe of the record -- and they include "Ain't Got Time", "To Be Invisible", "Kung Fu", "Suffer", "Power to the People", and "Make Me Believe In You". Got To Find A Way is a great album that's often overlooked amidst the flurry of early 70's releases on Curtom, but which still stands as one of Mayfield's greatest from the 70s! In fact, we'd say that the album's one that we enjoy putting on more than most -- because the songs are less familiar, and not nearly as played-out as some of Curtis' bigger hits. The production style's still the same -- with plenty of rumbling funky soul, arranged by Rich Tufo in that classic Curtom mode -- and you can't beat Curtis' vocals on songs like "Mother's Son", "Love Me (Right In the Pocket)", "A Prayer", and "Ain't No Love Lost". CD features a total of 13 tracks in all -- and great notes on the albums!

Impressions -- This Is My Country / Young Mod's Forgotten Story . . . CD . . . $11.99 (Item: 431754)

Curtom/Snapper (UK), 1968/1969 Condition: New Copy View Cart

2 of our favorite Impressions albums ever -- both righteous late 60s sessions, back to back on one CD! This Is My Country has The Impressions wearing their politics much more on their sleeve than before -- with a cover that shows them standing in the rubble of the ghetto, and a title that is both a bold proclamation of ownership, and a sad comment on the state of affairs. Curtis Mayfield's pen is in perfect form here, and the group hits that perfect mix of sweet soul and politics that make these late 60s efforts some of their (and Curtis') strongest work, with harmonies that far surpass the earlier years, and which still kind of make us wish that Curtis hadn't gone solo, because we just love the sound of his sweet raspy voice next to the deeper style of Fred Cash. The set's filled with great cuts like "This Is My Country", "Loves Happening", "Fool For You", and "Stay Close To Me". Young Mod's Forgotten Story is a key transitional set -- a record that has the group opening up the politics that were often hidden by spiritual metaphors on earlier ABC albums, into a righteous soul groove that hints a lot at the overblown direction Curtis Mayfield would take in the 70s, yet which still retains all the tightness of the group's earlier work. Nearly every single cut's a classic -- and the group outdid themselves vocally, especially Curtis, who always makes our heart break on this one! Donny Hathaway and Johnny Pate handled the arrangements, and tracks include "Choice Of Colors", "The Girl I Find", "Mighty Mighty (Spade & Whitey)", "Soulful Love", and "Seven Years".

  • 2 years later...
Posted

OK, so I've already got everything Curtis released (solo, under his own name) up through 1975. So, then, I've already got all of this...

Curtis (1970)

Curtis/Live! (1971) [live]

Roots (1971)

Super Fly (1972)

Back to the World (1973)

Got to Find a Way (1974)

Sweet Exorcist (1974)

There's No Place Like America Today (1975)

My question is: Is there anything Curtis recorded AFTER 1975, that's worth seeking out??

I'm NOT expecting any 5-star albums (cuz I know there aren't any to be found after '75), and frankly not any 4-star albums either. But are there any golden nuggets (even just a few individual tracks) worth finding among all that coal??

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