Back to the World
A concept album about soldiers coming home from Vietnam, and a number one R&B record.
Curtis Mayfield, 1973
- Released
- 1973
- Label
- Curtom
- Producer
- Curtis Mayfield
The fourth studio album was a concept album about the social aftermath of the Vietnam War. It reached number 16 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart. Stevie Chick of the Guardian wrote that Mayfield put himself in the boots of returning soldiers. In the opening title track a soldier hears his mother say the war was never won, and Chick found Right on for the Darkness to be Mayfield's most bitter message, set to his most melancholic funk. The same writer set it beside the 1975 follow-up There's No Place Like America Today, calling them neo-realist masterpieces.
Track listing
- Back to the World6:48
- Future Shock5:24
- Right On for the Darkness7:30
- If I Were Only a Child Again2:53
- Can't Say Nothin'5:20
- Keep On Trippin'3:16
- Future Song (Love a Good Woman, Love a Good Man)5:00
Personnel
- Curtis Mayfield vocals, guitar, producer
- Phil Upchurch guitar
- Joseph "Lucky" Scott bass
- Rich Tufo keyboards, organ, arrangements
- Henry Gibson congas, percussion
- Quinton Joseph drums
- Roger Anfinsen engineer
More from Curtis Mayfield
Curtis (1970), Roots (1971), Super Fly (1972), There's No Place Like America Today (1975)
Sources
- Back to the World (Curtis Mayfield album), Wikipedia
- Curtis Mayfield: 10 of the best, The Guardian (2015-08-05)