Curtis Mayfield Super Fly

SUPERFLY: DELUXE 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION contains 2 bonus tracks and the second disc contains rare and previously unreleased tracks as well as an interview with Curtis Mayfield.
Personnel includes: Curtis Mayfield (vocals, guitar); Johnny Pate (arranger, conductor).
Recorded at RCA Studios, Chicago, Illinois and Bell Sound Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by A. Scott Galloway.
With his socially conscious messages and positive, pro-active stance, Curtis Mayfield seemed an unlikely candidate to score a blaxploitation film. That SUPERFLY resulted not only in an excellent soundtrack for the film, but in one of Mayfield's best albums, is all the more surprising. In fact, Mayfield's forward-thinking philosophy added a layer of depth to the movie, painting its realistic urban scenes through song in ways that comment on socio-economic hardships and the plight of many African Americans. He is especially skilled at character sketches, as on the driving "Freddie's Dead," and writing from particular points of view, as on the sly, slinky "Pusherman."
Along with Isaac Hayes's SHAFT, SUPERFLY wrote the book on blaxploitation music, pioneering sounds, themes, and moods that would be indelibly associated--thanks in part to the films they accompanied--with black inner-city life in the '70s. Mayfield achieves this with an array of lean funk grooves punctuated by brass arrangements, interlocking percussion, wah-wah guitar, and his wispy, soulful tenor. The title track, which closes out the set, is one of Mayfield's signature tunes, and still stands among the most recognizable, and pleasurable, musical emblems of the era.

• Genre: R&B
• Format: Vinyl