Curtis Mayfield Gospel
This ingenious collection pulls the most gospel-style and thematically religious tracks from Chicago soul pioneer Curtis Mayfield's recordings.Gospelis a solid, dynamic serving of both pumpin' '60s soul and mellow '70s grooves. The lyrics speak of love, forgiveness, prayer, and introspection, all flavored with the African American pride Mayfield never feared to display. At first it's a bit weird to see six of the Impressions' songs--including the hit "People Get Ready"--recontextualized in such a way, but the disc's abrupt changes of style quickly cohere after a few listens. "We Got to Have Peace" and "Something to Believe In"aregreat as funky preacher songs, not just funky, baby-relax-with-me-on-this-luxurious-couch songs. So long as the listener doesn't have completely strict definitions of what is and what is not spiritual, the message of faith within "When We're Alone" and "You Ought to Be in Heaven" is easily glimpsed. Soul fans already know that Mayfield's music is slinky, sly, and irresistibly groovy. This collection just makes the true Christian messages within Mayfield's richly textured funk shine as clearly as his many salacious songs of Solomon.--Mike McGonigal