THE PACKAGE

The first song on the first solo album by Curtis Mayfield is "(Don't Worry) If there's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go". It's a whopper, a jam and a half. Fu-huck yeah. It starts out kinda quiet with fuzz bass and a woman saying that people should start reading the Book of Revelations, ho-hum, but then the congas seep in, okay, so now we're moving. Then Mayfield, with heavy echo, comes in, "Sisters! Niggers! Whities! Jews! Crackers! Don't worry, if there's a hell below, we're all gonna go!", followed by a scream, and then the thing just takes off. It's got everything you could ask for. strings and horns playing off each and that glorious wah-wah. As close to ground zero of the classic blaxsploitation sound as it gets. ("Shaft"? Get out of town. This is a year before Isaac Haye's signature song.) And it's probably Mayfield doing the fret to pedal work, being that he did when it was played live. The drums? Shit, that funky beat is unrelenting. As are the congas, bongos and the heavy, heavy bass line. As amazing as the song is, it's but one on an LP that is similarly packed with thick layers of psychedelic soul (listen to "Move On Up"). And all of this written, sung, and produced by Mayfield after a successful run with the Impressions and his own record label.

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Listen:
Curtis Mayfield - (Don't Worry) If there's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go mp3 at Internet Archive
Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up mp3 at SGS (?)