Superfly

Music by Curtis Mayfield

 

 

 

 

 

"So if you wanna be the junk wild, remember, Fredy is dead"

 

Belonging to the golden age of black cinema, Superfly (1972) was an adventure in the underworld of drugs and directed by Gordon Parks Jr, son of Shaft´s director.

The screenplay gave perfect way to Curtis Mayfield´s anti-drugs speech. The track Freddy's Dead was one of the leading themes in the Mayfield´s career. Track Pusherman is heard in a bar scene with Curtis and his group live. As compensation to his vocal limitations, the composer worked on sophisticated arrangements and instrumental of strength only comparable to the Isaac Hayes soundtracks. Each of the tracks stand out as highlights, remarks to the heavy bases on Little Child Runnin Wild and Superfly, and the great ballad No Thing On Me. Conclusion, Superfly is a great album by Curtis Mayfiled linked to cinema more than a proper soundtrack as Isaac Hayes or Salomon Burke have done. Still is a basic album for the soul cinema genre. If the film did not work well as cinema, with its weak script and level B production, at least the music is an honorable classic of its time. A double CD reissue contains out-takes and instrumental versions of the main tracks.