Curtis Mayfield – Kung Fu
Sensei Curtis
Listen/Download – Curtis Mayfield – Kung Fu MP3
Greetings all.
What Better way to east into the week than with some mellow, timely Curtis?
You all know that Curtis Mayfield was/is where it’s at, as composer, Impression, singer, guitarist and spirit of all things soulful.
Today’s selection, ‘Kung Fu’ (and you know there’s some 44 year old out there carrying the name with him) hails from the 1974 LP ‘Sweet Exorcist’, which seems to have been pieced together with some older/existing tracks and some then-current material.
No matter how or why this album was assembled, the bottom line is that it is prime, mid-70s Curtis (‘Kung Fu’ was an R&B Top 5 hit, making it into the Pop Top 40) and it has both a tasty groove, as well as a story to tell.
I have no doubt that Curtis had the strong, stoic wanderer Caine on his mind when he composed the tale of persistence in the ghetto, with a tip of the hat to the Temps ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’.
The groove is subdued but strong, with the bass and a stabbing organ setting the tone, with some barely perceptible strings wavering underneath.
This is the sound of the city circa 1974, with Curtis walking a razor between defiance and despair.
It is both a head-nodder and a head-shaker, and if you’re not old enough to remember the early 70s, there’s enough going wrong in the world now for you to identify with the vibe of the song.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all next week.
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Keep the faith
Larry
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one of his best
That’s a high bar indeed. What a tragedy his accident was. Love Curtis Mayfield. Highly recommend almost everything he did, whether you love post doo wop R&B or his 70s funk.