Movin’ On Up – The Music & Message of Curtis
Mayfield & The Impressions
(Universal Music DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Episode: B
One of
the most enduring Soul legacies and one of the most underappreciated is that of
Curtis Mayfield, whose music was always as socially relevant as artistically
relevant. After working with some other
bands and artists, he became the lead singer of The Impressions in 1958 and
after an amazing run of success at the key (but now defunct) ABC-Paramount record
label. Their hits included the original Gypsy Woman, iconic It’s All Right, Keep On
Pushin’, People Get Ready and Check Out Your Mind, all of which can be
heard on the new DVD Movin’ On Up – The
Music & Message of Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions from Universal
Records.
The disc
also covers Mayfield’s equally cutting-edge solo career, including his
still-potent and popular music for the Blaxploitation classic Superfly, but he scored other films as
well and had many hits and key records outside of his film work. Because he is not a Motown act and was not as
huge a crossover act as a James Brown or Al Green, it is a story and career not
discussed enough and this new DVD corrects that with a rich variety of interviews,
rare clips and all the original music.
The
connection to the Civil Rights Movement might be one of the reasons since the
1980s that this has been ignored, as the media and others with a certain
political bend want to forget that moment ever happened and all of Mayfield’s
music is inseparable from that history so we have all paid a price by its
absence. Long overdue, it is an
exceptional compendium that anyone serious about music will find indispensable.
The 1.33
X 1 image is just fine for what is here, including the usual mix of old and new
footage, including what seems like the use of master (or near-master) tapes of the
music. The picture quality is pretty
good considering the age of some of the materials and is nicely edited. The audio can be monophonic at times, but we
get both DTS 5.1 that can sound really good and a lesser Dolby Digital 2.0 with
adequate sound, if not as good as the DTS.
Fans of the music will prefer the DTS for its fidelity and what it
reveals of the original music.
Extras include bonus interviews and five bonus
performances: Move On Up (1972), Mighty Mighty (Spade & Whitey)
(1972), We’re A Winner (1972), We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue (1972)
and Freddie’s Dead (1973). The DVD also comes with a nice, thick,
heavily illustrated booklet with informative info text and a solid essay by Rob
Bowman. All in all, this is a very
pleasant surprise loaded with everything you could ask for, and to think this
is just a retrospective!
For more on Mayfield, try this 1990 concert:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1461/Curtis+Mayfield+In+Concert+(Ohne
- Nicholas Sheffo
