Curtis Mayfield, Curtis Live! (1971)
Stripping back the orchestral soul of his debut album, this New York recording has a low-key, smoky jazz feel, with Curtis’ nimble guitar work in the lead. But the intimacy doesn’t dampen the racial politics, which take in a spectrum from righteous anger (Mighty Mighty Spade And Whitey) to bare sadness (We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue). Alongside Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield was perhaps the most creatively ambitious of all the black American songwriters of the 70s, and while this album doesn’t show his full musical range, its suggestion of a different, quieter soul aesthetic make it indispensable.
> See here for a list of all the 100-word albums.
Stripping back the orchestral soul of his debut album, this New York recording has a low-key, smoky jazz feel, with Curtis’ nimble guitar work in the lead. But the intimacy doesn’t dampen the racial politics, which take in a spectrum from righteous anger (Mighty Mighty Spade And Whitey) to bare sadness (We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue). Alongside Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield was perhaps the most creatively ambitious of all the black American songwriters of the 70s, and while this album doesn’t show his full musical range, its suggestion of a different, quieter soul aesthetic make it indispensable.
> See here for a list of all the 100-word albums.
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