Curtis Mayfield -- "Move On Up" (1970)

Hard to believe that the first time I heard this 8-minute cooking jam from one of the great black power singer/songwriters was five years after it had come out, on the soundtrack to a low-budget sketch flick called "The Groove Tube."

By the time I hit college, there were two cheap-o R-rated comedy movies which parodied TV shows, commercials and popular movies that played the midnight circuit -- "The Groove Tube" and "Kentucky Fried Movie." Groove Tube's memorable opening was in two parts, the first parodying 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the second was a loony sketch involving a hitchhiker getting picked up by a hot babe on a California highway and then chasing her through the woods in a twisted version of "The naked Prey" -- all of it done to Mayfield's "Move On Up." There was nothing on screen remotely connected to ghetto struggles or black liberation... it just had a kickin' percussion-driven groove that made for good editing and fast pacing.

Some years later, I tracked down a used vinyl copy of Curtis down on St. Marks Place and played "Move On Up" at many parties. I loved Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack album, and I can still recite the lyrics to most of those songs today. But "Move On Up" was his extended party theme, something where everybody can join in with that killer minor key horn hook.

Hush now child,
and don't you cry.
Your folks might understand you
by and by.
Move on up...
towards your destination.
You may find
from time to time
Complications.

Bite your lip
and take a trip.
Though there may be
wet road ahead
You cannot slip.
Just move on up...
and peace you will find
Into the steeple
of beautiful people
Where there's only one kind.

So hush now child
and don't you cry.
Your folks might understand you
by and by.
Just move on up
and keep on wishing.
Remember your dreams
are your only schemes.
So keep on pushing
Take nothing less -
not even second best
And do not obey -
you must have your say
You can past the test

Move on up!


This song reminds me of many of War's early 70's jam songs, where it was all live, analog, warm and deep. Mayfield's gorgeous falsetto told many tales of hard times and pushing ahead, building on his body of similar themes with The Impressions ("People Get Ready," "We're A Winner," "It's Alright").

Song highlight: after soloing and just letting the percussion and horns carry the beat, the song pauses for a split second, and the horns do sort of a fake major chord coda. You think it's over and them wham, the drums come whirling back in by themselves, lots of cymbals and snares, with the bass and guitar following in a simmer.

Yes, this is old school, but crank this at the right time in a club or party, and the place goes into a frenzy.

Lucky you, here is the famous R-rated opening sequence for "The Groove Tube," followed by all eight-minutes of "Move On Up," and then Mayfield performing the song live in concert.

CURTIS MAYFIELD "move on up"
Uploaded by siegfried1budoka

New Musik -- "Straight Lines" (1979)

Talk about your obscure yet amazing synthpop records of the New Wave era. I burned this song on a New Wave compilation CD for my daughter not long ago. Today, I put on the CD without looking at what it was just before her birthday sleepover was about to begin. A loud doorbell of the "ding-dong" kind came blasting through the basement and my wife ran to see if the first guest had arrived. Of course, it was the opening sound effect of "Straight Lines."

There's no question in my mind that New Musik were the true pioneers of the synthpop genre, preceding acts like Depeche Mode and Yazoo by a couple of years. Why they fizzled out after a few years, just as those other acts were starting to pick up steam, is not much of a mystery -- their American label, CBS, didn't know what to do with them never releasing their original albums and who knows if they were even promoted properly. It's a miracle they even made American radio at all, while scorching the UK charts.

I remember distinctly hearing "Straight Lines" for the first time on WPIX-FM when the station was pushing its primarily new wave format. The song was extremely catchy, danceable and quirky, but somewhat off balance from its dizzying piano notes. It's got a very fast and straight straight 4/4 beat, perfect for either pogo-ing or wild freak-ish jumping all over the place. Although it feels like a synthpop song, there are a lot of organic elements in it -- I think the drum is live, electric bass, acoustic guitar, typical "round sound" guitar notes.

CBS released on the song on a 10" NuDisk EP, which I ran out and bought. It re-appeared several months later on a US album called Sanctuary, which contained many of the great pop songs from the group's first two UK albums. Thematically, the group was all about emotional distance, things being out of our control.


You're running in circles
Yet traveling in straight lines.
You're racing around
You move at the speed of time.
We're running together
We're moving along the way.
Whatever the weather
You'll find there'll be no delay.

Sure you can hit the beaten track
But you can never turn it back.
One way.
Straight lines (moving on a straight line)
Straight lines (moving on a straight line).

You're making decisions
You wonder which way to choose.
There's this way and that way
How could you ever lose.
We're shifting together
We're on a production line.
All drifting together
As a patent unique design.

Yes you can hit the beaten track
But you can never turn it back.


Tony Manfield was pretty much the band, writing the songs and singing lead with a very "English-sounding voice." When he sings about "being on a production line," well, it really sounds it, pumping away on rhythm and beat. When New Musik broke up, Mansfield went on to produce a number of New Wave acts like the similar-sounding Naked Eyes ("Promises, Promises"), a-ha, The B-52's and After The Fire ("Der Kommisar").

In 1980, New Musik appeared on the UK TV show "Top Of The Pops" performing "Living By Numbers." The announcer introduced the band as follows: "Now this is one of those massive Eurohits sung by a bloke who doesn't seem like he wants to be here. He's either nervous or he knows the song is kack." Kack?

Below are two rare New Musik videos -- a shortened silly version of "Straight Lines" from "Top of The Pops" (the full song is about five minutes long, this one is slightly longer than half that) (gotta love the suits and ties), and the official video of another great tune "This World Of Water," with an early use of the vocoder effect.

The O'Jays -- "I Love Music" (1975)

Listening to Sirius Satellite Radio's Soul Town station, I commend them on playing full versions of many classic hits. This week was devoted to a lot of Philly Soul, and I heard this favorite of mine in its full six minute version twice.

Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who not only ran the Philadelphia International label, but wrote and produced many of their hits, were true geniuses. Had to say it. If you think about all the amazing productions that came out of their shop in the 70's from the O'Jays, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Billy Paul, Teddy Pendergrass, and MFSB, you know you are talking about a truly unique production sound and first class songwriting. And they often could get the dance floor busy as well.

Now it really takes a genius to create a six-minute classic based on two chords -- E minor and F# minor, for those keeping track. A paean to loving "any kind of music," with a thumping bass pattern that virtually never changes the entire song, and yet it works because the groove is magnetic, the O'Jays' vocals are gospel-ish electricity, and the arrangement, as usual, never fails.

I probably should add this song to my list of great song openings of the 60's and 70's. A chunky conga beat played solo for several seconds, joined by the drums with a prominent hi hat, and the climbing bass part that goes back and forth between E minor and F# minor roots. As soon as you hear those congas, before anything else comes in, your head is already shaking in time and your body is ready to groove along.

Gamble and Huff often used the O'Jays for their most powerful "message songs" of unity and love, a common theme of 70's soul music (see my post on War's "The World Is A Ghetto"). As a matter of fact, one of their albums was called Message In The Music. And if you see the Family Reunion album cover (above), where "I Love Music" was taken from, there is nothing subtle about not only their message, but their desire to cut across racial barriers with their success.

I love music, any kind of music
I love music, just as long as it's groovin'

Makes me laugh, makes me smile
All the while
Whenever I'm with you girl
While we dance, make romance
I'm enchanted by the things that you do.

I love music
sweet, sweet music
Long as it's swinging
All the joy that it's bringin'.

I'm so happy to be in complete harmony,
I love you, girl
And to hold you so close in my arms
I'm so glad you're mine all mine mine

Nothing can be better than a sweet love song
So sweet
So sweet
So mellow, mellow
When you got the girl that you love in your arm
Oh honey, I love you, I love you, yeah
Music is the healing force of the world
It's understood by every man, woman, boy and girl
And that's why, that's why I say

I love music
Any kind of music
I love music
Just as long as it's groovin', groovin'

Music makes the atmosphere so fine
Lights down low
Just me and you baby, you know
'Specially when you got a cold glass of wine
Mellow, mellow wine and song.

The arrangement propels this song for a full six minutes, with the drum and bass amazingly staying in lockstep for the same beat and two chords, mixing in the percussion-y transients of a hard-played piano, horns, that infamous conga, and the jazzy chorused Fender Strat guitar strums and lines. In Philly, they always played live.

While the song came out in the early disco era, it didn't really have the characteristics of a disco song other than sharing a 4/4 beat. Yet, you'd have to be crazy not to put out a song called "I Love Music" that you couldn't dance to. With the O'Jays calling out to each other and clapping their hands, this is one song everybody can really join in.

Three videos for this one -- 1) The O'Jays performing the three and a half minute single version of "I Love Music" single on TV's "Soul Train" in 1975, 2) another clip from a different "Soul Train" show where the dancers lined up to show their moves to this song ("the so-o-o-o-o-oul train!"), and 3) the full 10-minute 12" version (which is a must if you haven't heard it before) with guitar solos, orchestra and the O'Jays raising the floor with "I love, I love, I love, I love music!"

The O'Jays - I Love Music -
Uploaded by CBWASA

Soul train dancers
Uploaded by gazobu