“I got a jones, runnin’ through my bones.”
Curtis Mayfield sings these lines on “Little Child Running,” the opening track of the Superfly soundtrack. The funky beats surrounding the track make it perfect for a blaxploitation flick. However, listen to the lyrics and you’ll quickly find Superfly is a lot closer to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On than background music for a movie celebrating drugs and hustling. Listen to the mournful string arrangements at the end and hear an artist whose album is taking on a cinematic scale every bit as epic as what’s on the big screen.
The next two songs on Superfly are among Mayfield’s most famous. “Pusherman” and “Freddie’s Dead” went on to be huge sellers. Their influence is felt today with Eminem and Fishbone (who covered “Freddie’s Dead” on their classic Truth And Soul album). “Freddie’s Dead” has a playful chorus, supported by an equally playful use of flute. However, the lyrics are a cautionary tale of like as a junkie.
The instrumental tracks on Superfly rightly play out like a musical score. The instrumental “Junkie Chase,” plays out just like a chase scene, complete with a steady, propulsive percussion and sharp, stabbing horns. This is contrasted with the mellow, introspective “Think,” which features a bluesy guitar riff and a great marriage of woodwinds, piano and drums.
One of the most striking elements of Superfly is its subtlety. Mayfield addresses the affects of drugs on a person and a society, plainly addressing the highs and not flinching away from the inevitable lows. In addition, the album is also subtle in terms of its instrumentation. Mayfield uses an orchestra worth of instrumentation (strings, woodwinds, horns) but in each song, there’s plenty of open spaces, giving plenty of breathing room for the percussion and guitars.
The album closes with the title track, which features one of the most memorable bass riffs in rock. It’s a track that is instantly appealing, yet it’s proof that Mayfield, at the top of his game, was one of the most sophisticated artists in soul and R&B. His blend of stark lyrics and sweeping musical landscapes had few peers. As soundtracks go, Superfly is an easy shoo-in for any music lover’s “best soundtracks of all-time” list.
