Curtis Mayfield – Super Fly: 50th Anniversary Edition 2LP Rhino / Run Out Groove

Super Fly is the third studio album by American soul musician Curtis Mayfield, released in July 1972 on Curtom Records. It was released as the soundtrack for the Blaxploitation film of the same name. Widely considered a classic of 1970s soul and funk music, Super Fly was a nearly immediate hit. It’s sales were bolstered by two million-selling singles, “Freddie’s Dead” (number 2 R&B charts, number 4 Pop charts) and the title track (number 5 R&B, number 8 Pop). Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied. Super Fly, along with Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On (1971), was one of the pioneering soul concept albums, with it’s then-unique socially aware lyrics about poverty and drug abuse making the album stand out. The film and the soundtrack may be perceived as dissonant, since the film holds rather ambiguous views on drug dealers, whereas Curtis Mayfield’s position is far more critical. Like What’s Going On, the album was a surprise hit that record executives felt had little chance at significant sales. Due to it’s success, Mayfield was tapped for several film soundtracks over the course of the decade. In 2003, VH1 named Super Fly the 63rd greatest album of all time. The title track was selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2003, the album was ranked number 69 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is ranked number 986 in All-Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” This 2LP 50th anniversary edition expands the album with a bonus disc of demos and also includes a movie poster, new liner notes, never before seen photos and a custom turn table mat exclusive to this limited release.