Man In The Groove -- Curtis Mayfield: A Music Pioneer Gets His Due In A Fine New CD Set

Curtis Mayfield was ahead of his time. With the Impressions and later as a solo artist, he was one of the first performers to capture the tenor of the times in the late 1950s and early '60s, musically expressing the feeling in the streets during the formative years of the civil-rights and peace movements.

He was always a positive force, expressing the highest ideals of both movements, preaching black pride and tolerance, universal peace and blissful love. His music had a spiritual quality, and a solid funky groove. His best work was thought-provoking, challenging and uplifting. His lyrics were often directed at the black community, but had relevance for all.

He had his greatest success in 1972 with the "Superfly" soundtrack, which produced the pop hits "Freddie's Dead" and "Superfly." Once again, he was ahead of his time, warning of the dangers of drugs and the gangster life. Later in the '70s, he crafted beautiful love songs that contrasted with his streetwise political anthems.

Mayfield fell out of favor in the meaner 1980s, when rap came roaring in, all blustery and angry. Songs of peace, love and understanding suddenly became passe. Then a tragedy happened. In 1990, performing at an outdoor concert in Brooklyn at the start of a comeback tour, a lighting rig was dislodged by high winds and fell on Mayfield, leaving him a quadriplegic.

In the aftermath of that shock, his musical contribution was re-evaluated and he was hailed as an innovator and pioneer. In 1992, MCA issued a fine double-CD set, "Curtis Mayfield And the Impressions: The Anthology 1961-1977." In 1994, a number of top stars, including Whitney Houston, Elton John and Aretha Franklin, contributed to the excellent "All Men Are Brothers: A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield" on Warner Bros. Records (Mayfield's current label). And last year, Curtom, Mayfield's own label, released "Living Legend," a 20-track, two-CD collection.

But "People Get Ready! The Curtis Mayfield Story," a new, three-CD, 51-cut box set from Rhino, is the definitive Curtis Mayfield anthology. In contrast to the MCA set, it doesn't have a lot of Impressions material - although the dozen Impressions cuts nicely cover the hits and highlights - and it's much more complete than the Curtom release.

The Rhino set, available on CDs only (with a $49.98 suggested retail price), shows the breadth and depth of Mayfield's work, and how his ideals and his creativity never flagged, even when his sales dwindled.

It shows that he was not only a great songwriter but also a beautiful singer, with a voice so sweet that even his toughest, grittiest songs go down easy. It shows that he was a gifted film scorer, with a knack for writing songs that were even better (and lasted longer) than the films. And it shows that he was an innovative guitarist, with a warm, distinctive style.

The excellent accompanying booklet tells his fascinating life story, including the fact that he was only a teenager when he became a professional, was in his mid-20s when he wrote the classic "Choice of Colors" while in the Impressions (he also wrote "Keep on Pushing," "People Get Ready," "Gypsy Woman" and "I'm So Proud"), and that he was not only a brilliant singer-songwriter-musician-arranger-film scorer but also a prolific composer for other artists, as well as a record executive. Among the artists he discovered for his Curtom label was the great Donny Hathaway.

Mayfield plans to follow this stunning career retrospective with a new album, set for release in late spring or early summer. Meanwhile, you can hear his influence, and his sampled rhythms, on many rap and hip-hop songs (so far, he has been sampled on more than 100).