CURTIS (REVISED)

Curtis Mayfield's remarkable debut album begins with the singer calling out over a fat bass line, "Sisters! Niggers! Whities! Jews! Crackers! Don't worry, if there's a Hell below, we're all gonna go!" A mixed message, to be sure. Mayfield is defined by them, perhaps the only singer who could make drug dealing street tales and warnings of damnation sound downright soothing, with the aid of his silky, featherlight voice.

Curtis (1970) was released a year before Mayfield left the Impressions but he'd already spent his last albums with the soul group laying the groundwork for his debut with a series of socially and politically anthemic pop songs. Curtis is a uniquely ambitious effort though. "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Gonna Go" delivers a dire message over a blisteringly funky groove, as if Mayfield expects us to dance into hell.

That mad, rhythm-driven energy is only tapped a few more times during the album's 40 minutes, Mayfield instead opting often for a softer, richer sound to address social concerns as wide ranging as the decaying of America's cities ("The Other Side of Town") and the need to celebrate black women ("Miss Black America"). "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue" strikes a moody balance between these extremes, its painful dirge split down the middle by a galloping, rhythmic bridge.

When not in a political mindset, Curtis wanders into slightly saccharine territory, but these diversions are still gorgeous and welcome. Beginning with a harp and horn laden intro straight out of a Disney musical, "The Makings of You" sees Mayfield singing of roses, sugar and "the joy of children laughing around you". Album closer "Give It Up" presents a portrait of a failing marriage over an oddly casual and comforting ramble of guitar and harp, though the hurt in Mayfield's voice is undeniably heartbreaking during the song's mournful chorus: "the warmth of embraces, and the love of our faces / it never happened, you see."

"Move On Up" is arguably the album's centerpiece and one of Mayfield's most well known songs. Its first half is celebratory pop perfection, a perpetual climax riding on an unmistakable and ebullient horn section and Mayfield's pep talk lyrics: "Move on up / And keep on wishing / Remember your dream / Is your only scheme / So keep on pushing." At the four minute mark, its components reconfigure into a frantic, extended jam, the rhythm and irresistible motion of it sounding like a thrilling cross between funk, afrobeat and more modern styles of dance music still years off from 1970.



As he would prove again two years later with his soundtrack to the film "Super Fly" - a catalog of the wild highs and lows of a typical drug dealer, ten years ahead of the war on drugs and fifteen years ahead of gangsta rap - Mayfield understood the soul of urban America better than most, and these songs still feel remarkably relevant and important today. With his combination of reassuringly smooth sounds and delicately powerful words, Mayfield recognized the worries and fears of a troubled America and answered them with positivity, thoughtfulness and dignity.