Sparkle – OST

Sometimes you have to remove people from your life.  A process that Billy refers to as “making your big black book into a little black book.”  It’s a sad fact of life, but let’s face it…not everyone makes the final cut.

A year ago I started cutting one group out of my life…not because I hated them, nor because they were bad people, but I just came to the realization that I had nothing in common with them and really didn’t enjoy doing anything they enjoyed doing.

That and they were always late.

The kind of late where they tell you to show up at 2pm for a camping trip, and when you get there at 2…people are still sleeping, and three hours later people still won’t be ready to go.  That shit drove me nuts.

My friend T-Bags had it much worse recently when she began to extricate a certain girlfriend from her life…we’ll call her “Amy.”  Now I never liked Amy anyways…she was self centered, obnoxious and horribly over-dramatic. But when I asked -Bags about her reasons…she said it came down to the cock-blocking.

Apparently a few weeks ago they went out with some guy T-Bags was seeing, and at the end of the night the three of them ended up at his house.  T-Bags and her boy were ready to get their groove on, and they were showing Amy to the guest bedroom when she declared “No, I’m sleeping with you!”

T-Bags protested, but Amy insisted.  Then when they got to bed, Amy also insisted that she sleep between T-Bags and her boy because “that’s where it was warmest… and she was cold.”  How do you not get cut after pulling shit like that?

Another group that didn’t make the cut was the original cast of the 1976 film “Sparkle,’ which tells the storey of three female singers on the bumpy road to success.  The film was pretty ridiculous, although out of said ridiculousness came a decent cult following…like “Showgirls,” which is kind of funny since Warner Brothers only just reissued the film on DVD hoping to capitalize on the story’s similarity to the Oscar winning “Dreamgirls.”

But the movie doesn’t matter here.  What matters is the soundtrack! It’s all produced by the legendary Curtis Mayfield, and what’s even better is that be decided to dump the cast recordings and have Aretha Franklin take over vocal duties.  I can almost see some sort of hallway collision happening at the studio:

“Hey!  You got your Curtis Mayfield all over my Aretha Franklin!”

“And you got your Aretha all over my Curtis!!!”

“…wait a minute?!?!  This is delicious!!!”

Thank God this collision happened or you might have been left with the most forgettable Curtis soundtrack ever, instead of the gem that emerged. About the only negative thing I can say about it is that it’s too short….but since the movie was only about an hour and a half, I figure Curtis worked within the time he had.  The album is notable not only for the awesome Mayfield score and Aretha’s dramatically soulful vocals…but for having two songs that were eventually covered by En Vogue:  ‘Something He Can Feel’ and ‘Hooked on Your Love.’

This is a must for any Curtis Mayfield completist and any fan of Aretha.  And, let’s be honest…who isn’t a fan of Aretha?

Curtis Mayfield – Curtis/Live!

You know what sucks about Curtis Mayfield…aside from the fact that he’s dead?

What sucks is that a man with such talent and skill is only known for one album.  Really, most act as if he simply appeared, made “Superfly,” and promptly disappeared from the face of the earth.

This isn’t to imply that “Superfly” isn’t a superior album, because it is.  What bothers me is that it’s a poor representation of a much larger and more expansive career.  I find it reminiscent of the people who claim to be Bob Marley fans, but only own “Legend.”

Most people are unaware that Curtis’s career started in 1956, when he dropped out of High School to join The Roosters with the Brooks brothers, Richard and Arthur, and Jerry Butler.  It was two years later that they would become The Impressions when they added Sam Gooden to their line up.  When Butler left the group, Curtis suddenly found himself the lead singer and began composing for the band, a talent that would become his vocation for the rest of his career since he ended up being extremely good at it.

Mayfield also became known for his falsetto singing style and unique guitar tuning.  Word has it that he tuned his guitar to the open F-sharp of the black piano keys, giving him a sound that set him apart from th rest of the pack.  Why?  Because he was a bad ass!

As the sixties moved on, The Impressions gained in popularity due to Mayfield’s ability to infuse his work with social commentary. He also began to extend his songwriting career, penning hits for Jerry Butler and The 5 Stairsteps to name a few.  And to top it all off, he was now the owner of the Mayfield and Windy C labels. 

Curtis Mayfield was a one man music industry.

In 1970 Mayfield left The Impressions and started yet another label, called Curtom, that would become home to such soul luminaries as The Staple Singers, Leroy Hutson and Baby Huey as well as releasing Mayfield’s solo works…like “Superfly.” 

But before all that happened, Curtis played at New York’s Bitter End Club in 1971 and released his first live recording from the tapes.  Accompanied by a stripped down band and playing in such an intimate setting allows Mayfield’s work to shine in a way that nearly eclipses the work he would continue to do in the years leading up to that tragic accident that would leave him paralyzed for the rest of his life. 

Consisting of songs written both for his years with The Impressions and material from his first solo work “Curtis” (released a year earlier,) “Curtis/Live” brims with a warmth and intimacy that most acoustic sets can only hope to achieve. Songs like ‘Stare and Stare,’ ‘Gypsy Woman’ and ‘Mighty Mighty’ find new life outside of their original orchestral arrangements and draw you into the experience like you were there at The Bitter End yourself.

Originally released as a double LP set with 12 tracks, the 2000 re-release on Rhino felt it necessary to add bonus tracks that included ‘Superfly’ as if to remind people who they were listening to.

But after listening to this album, you’ll never need reminding again.