Superfly by Curtis Mayfield

 

Superfly by Curtis Mayfield

I discovered this album via a mash-up cover of Pusherman by Brass Against. I checked out the Mayfield original, then found out that this was also where Freddie's Dead, a staple of the Derek Trucks Band live albums came from. It was time to seriously listen to the whole album. It is steeped in the early 70s funk soul fan, and if you're familiar with the infamous Shaft soundrack, you're in familiar territory. This double album doesn't feel like a soundtrack, even the instrumentals are funky as hell. Pusherman and Freddie's Dead are the highlights of the album, but the whole thing is really good. If I had one small gripe it's the abuse of string arrangements. They are not too invasive here, but it'd be even better if they weren't there at all.