Curtis Mayfield Superfly Soundtrack CD

Additional Tracks

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.
The choice of Curtis Mayfield to score the blaxploitation film Superfly was an inspired one. No other artist in popular music knew so well, and expressed through his music so naturally, the shades of gray inherent in contemporary inner-city life. His debut solo album, 1970's Curtis, had shown in vivid colors that the '60s optimist (author of the civil-rights anthems "Keep On Pushing" and "People Get Ready") had added a layer of subtlety to his material; appearing on the same LP as the positive and issue-oriented "Move On Up" was an apocalyptic piece of brimstone funk titled "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go." For Superfly, Mayfield wisely avoids celebrating the wheeling-and-dealing themes present in the movie, or exploiting them, instead using each song to focus on a different aspect of what he saw as a plague on America's streets. He also steers away from explicit moralizing; through his songs, Mayfield simply tells it like it is (for the characters in the film as in real life), with any lessons learned the result of his vibrant storytelling and knack of getting inside the heads of the characters. "Freddie's Dead," one of the album's signature pieces, tells the story of one of the film's main casualties, a good-hearted yet weak-willed man caught up in the life of a pusher, and devastatingly portrays the indifference of those who witness or hear about it. "Pusherman" masterfully uses the metaphor of drug dealer as businessman, with the drug game, by extension, just another way to make a living in a tough situation, while the title track equates hustling with gambling ("The game he plays he plays for keeps/hustlin' times and ghetto streets/tryin' ta get over"). Ironically, the sound of Superfly positively overwhelmed its lyrical finesse. A melange of deep, dark grooves, trademarked wah-wah guitar, and stinging brass, Superfly ignited an entire genre of music, the blaxploitation soundtrack, and influenced everyone from soul singers to television-music composers for decades to come. It stands alongside Saturday Night Fever and Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols as one of the most vivid touchstones of '70s pop music. ~ John Bush
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.
With his socially conscious messages and positive, pro-active stance, Curtis Mayfield seemed an unlikely candidatRolling Stone (12/11/03, p.114) - Ranked #69 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...An astonishing album, marrying lush string parts to funky bass grooves and lots of wah-wah guitar..."
Rolling Stone (2/3/00, p.53) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...this is the seminal blaxploitation soundtrack....And it's history."
Spin (p.122) - "This definitive blaxplotiation-flick soundtrack spiked his do-right nature with just the right amount of baaaaddness."
Entertainment Weekly (10/12/01, p.28) - Ranked #6 in EW's "100 Best Movie Soundtracks" - "...A testament to the powers of a musician at the top of his game..."
Q (9/94, p.128) - 5 Stars - Indispensable
Vibe (12/99, p.164) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century
Mojo (Publisher) (6/02, p.66) - Included in Mojo's "100 Coolest Movie Soundtracks".
Mojo (Publisher) (11/99, p.133) - "One of the few essential blaxploitation soundtracks...more renowned for its Curtis Mayfield score than its on-screen content..."