Welcome to Ear 2 Da Sky! Each week, I will be going over topics within music culture and reviewing albums and EPs across genres, eras and artists that are submitted by readers like you and listeners of my radio show, ear 2 da ground, every Wednesday at 11 p.m. on WHUS 91.7 FM! For this week’s submission, I listened to another oldie; Curtis Mayfield’s “Curtis.”
I’ve been going over a lot of debut albums, but I’m definitely not stopping here. After officially leaving the gospel, doo-wop, R&B and soul group The Impressions after 12 years, Mayfield had released his solo studio album debut in September 1970.
Being fully written and produced by Mayfield, “Curtis” explored a sound different from his previous group, subverting expectations and ultimately creating an anthemic album to the rise in pride of Black America.
“(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go” is track one on the 40-minute album. It opens with a woman speaking about the Bible and the Book of Revelations. She calls on people to apply it to everyday life, in hopes that it may turn around those that need it.
Mayfield butts in calling on different groups of people, by their respective derogatory terms. He does this to catch the attention of the listener and it sure as hell caught mine. He assures each group, no matter color, gender or religion, “Don’t worry / If there’s hell below / We’re all / Gonna go.” Mayfield speaks on the state of society in America and its political strife throughout the entire album and track one sets a strong precedent for what’s to come.
Track two opens with a grandiose, fairytale-esque sounding harp and crescendo in the percussion, which is then juxtaposed by the brass and strings, creating a hazy, sonic veil over the track. This opens up the flood gates for Mayfield, guiding the listener through the point of view of living in “The Other Side of Town,” which is suggested to be the poorer side.
There is nothing good or right on this side of town. Crime and economic plight culminate in depression. Mayfield paints a picture of what family life looks like on this side:
“My little sister / She hungry for bread to eat / My brother’s hand-me-down shoes / Is now showing his feet.”
This may be my ignorance peaking but touching on topics like mental health and depression in the 1970s seems incredibly progressive, as it was much more taboo than it is today.
Track four is “We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue.” This is another example of Mayfield contributing a backing track to Black American pride. He warns his community to stray away from negative self-fulfilling prophecies, “Are we gonna stand around this town / And let what others say come true?”
Mayfield plays around with colors through the song, weaving in and out of different meanings and contexts and tying together skin color, music and emotion. “High yellow gal, can’t you tell / You’re just the surface of our dark, deep well? / If your mind could really see / You’d know your color the same as me.”
While I only touched on three songs off the album, side two is just as wonderful with a classic in “Move on Up” and a beautiful lover letter that is “Miss Black America.” “Curtis” is an incredibly beautiful piece of history that has remained prevalent in society for over 50 years now. Mayfield uses all 40 minutes and some change to uplift his entire community in hopes of making a difference through his art. “Curtis” has made differences, withstood decades and still finds relevance.
Rating: 5/5
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