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| Poll: Which album is better? |
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| Curtis |
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44% |
[13] |
| Nowhere |
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55% |
[16] |
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| Total Votes : 29 |
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| Author |
Message |
- #1
- Posted: 09/18/2013 05:30
- Post subject: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)
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BDAT
Round 1
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
Curtis - Curtis Mayfield (1970)
Sponsor: alelsupreme
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
Nowhere - Ride (1990)
Sponsor: Dingerbell
PLEASE DO NOT VOTE UNLESS YOU HAVE HEARD BOTH ALBUMS
Last edited by Guest on 09/22/2013 12:27; edited 1 time in total
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meccalecca
Voice of Reason
Gender: Male
Location: The Land of Enchantment 
- #2
- Posted: 09/19/2013 18:30
- Post subject:
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hands down Curtis. I've never liked Ride anywhere near as much as MBV and Slowdive
_________________
http://jonnyleather.com
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meccalecca
Voice of Reason
Gender: Male
Location: The Land of Enchantment
- #3
- Posted: 09/19/2013 18:31
- Post subject:
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hands down Curtis. I've never liked Ride anywhere near as much as MBV and Slowdive
_________________
http://jonnyleather.com
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Norman Bates
Gender: Male
Age: 52
Location: Paris, France 
- #4
- Posted: 09/19/2013 19:14
- Post subject:
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I really like Nowhere. But Curtis has "Move On Up", plus at least 4 other masterpieces. I'll vote Curtis.
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CellarDoor
Shoe-Punk Loner
Gender: Male
Age: 40
Location: Marseille
- #5
- Posted: 09/19/2013 19:21
- Post subject:
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Love nowhere. 
_________________
I'll be your plastic toy.
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- #6
- Posted: 09/19/2013 21:29
- Post subject:
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Nowhere. If I do my top 100 songs it'll have two songs off this album.
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junodog4
Future Grumpy Old Man
Gender: Male
Location: Calgary 
- #7
- Posted: 09/20/2013 02:08
- Post subject:
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Curtis.
What a tremendous album by a fantastic artist.
_________________
Finnegan was super bad-ass.
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- #8
- Posted: 09/20/2013 09:12
- Post subject:
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Curtis is one of the greatest albums ever - debut, soul, or otherwise. Nowhere is a very good indie album (nowhere near as good as some of its peers, though - Loveless or Souvlaki or Lazer Guided Melodies or On Fire or So Tonight That I Might See). The choice is easy.
I actually picked Curtis as one of the albums to write about for the 500/1001/however many albums book, but I'm really struggling to find something worthwhile to say about it, so this probably isn't going to be the most eloquent defence slash promotion. 'If There's a Hell Below' and, particularly, 'Move On Up' are arguably the two greatest funk songs of all-time. The horns and bongos combination in 'Move On Up' has yet to be bettered by anybody. That those two songs kick off proceedings (respectively) on each side is perfect sequencing, each displaying muscle and oomph before Curtis showcases his soft soul side, which is a style he was clearly just as comfortable with. He had no sort of formal training musically, and apparently used to ask the session musicians hired to play chord sequences (or even play in keys) that they thought were weird or unconventional or that wouldn't work. This much is evident in the slowly snaking horns of 'We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue', which sit at a strange angle to the string section beneath, not to mention that song's sojourn into bongo-break territory and its subsequent path back to melody via harp. The album is full of fantastic musical nuances, above and beyond what soul artists usually aim for, even on this album's peers, the likes of What's Going On and Talking Book. 'The Makings of You' still doesn't make any sense to me musically, from its playful, Disney princess opening to its stumbled upon chord sequence that shouldn't work but does, emphatically so. The likes of 'Miss Black America' and 'Give It Up' are of a much more formalist bent but - due to Mayfield's grasp of the genre - they are still some of the greatest exercises in soft soul that you are ever likely to hear, both featuring triumphant horns and immediately familiar choruses. To me, the album is very similar to Pet Sounds, ostensibly a fairly light album that balances bombast and subtlety but also able, through that, to touch on much bigger issues, be they society wide or deeply personal. He was the single biggest influence on Marley, Hendrix and Lauryn Hill, and this is his greatest album (though I urge everyone to check out Roots, There's No Place Like America Today, Super Fly and pretty much everything you can find by The Impressions). Its peers are the aforementioned What's Going On, Innervisions and There's A Riot Goin' On, and it stands up next to all of them as one of the best albums ever released.
But blah blah blah. Curtis is in my Top 20, so obviously I adore it. It's a little disheartening to see it losing against what I see as a good but not great indie album, but we're a very indie-centric forum. I just hope that everybody takes the time to listen to Curtis and gives it a chance. You might hate songs about racism, or find that he just sounds like the old pervert from Family Guy, but you might find an album to cherish forever.
EDIT: Also, it's my birthday so vote for Curtis.
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- #9
- Posted: 09/20/2013 11:29
- Post subject:
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| lethalnezzle wrote: | | EDIT: Also, it's my birthday so vote for Curtis. |
Happy birthday! 
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Listmeister
Gender: Male
Location: Ohio
- #10
- Posted: 09/20/2013 12:54
- Post subject:
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Last fall, a band called The Wanted did a song called "I Found You." I thought it was one of October's best singles, with a Philly soul sound seldom heard since Earth Wind and Fire broke up. After listening to Curtis, especially Move On Up, I understand what they were going for. Curtis is an amazing album, more musically interesting than the more acclaimed What's Going On by Marvin Gaye. Vote to Curtis.
I liked the sound of Ride, but after four or five songs it all sounded a bit same-ish.
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