Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33786 in DVD
• Brand: Curtis
• Released on: 2008-05-06
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Best of, Color, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: German, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Album Description
This DVD tells the incredible Mayfield/Impressions story through interviews as well as 22 complete performances from The Impressions and Curtis Mayfield's solo career, filmed between 1965 and 1973. Johnny Pate, the band's arranger /producer speaks about the recording process of their classic songs. Altheida Mayfield, his widow, provides an insight into the personal side of Curtis including his aspirations. Chuck D (Public Enemy) provides context about Curtis's music as a soundtrack to the grim realities of urban life in the '70s. Civil rights leader Ambassador Andrew Young talks about the Impressions' contributions to the civil rights movement through the message of their songs.

Customer Reviews

Concise collection of classics from Curtis & Company
For lovers of classic Soul music and Crutis Mayfield and the Impressions in particular, this DVD will make you dance in the streets!

Reelin' in the Years, unlike many producers of music documentaries, actually "get it" and know that fans who care enough about an artist to buy such DVD's want to the see COMPLETE songs, and this DVD delivers in that fashion as did their previous excellent Otis Redding set.

This DVD mixes rare interview footage of the underrated King of message-oriented Soul Music with recent interviews with his widow and his fellow Impressions Sam Gooden and Fred Cash (Jerry Butler is mnetioned, but does not appear). The surviving Impresssions have aged well and they share some interesting anecdotes. One in particular involves producer Johnny Pate (who also appears) talking the guys out of recording the original lyrics to the Curtis classic "We're a Winner" (the finished song was banned by some pop stations in 1967 for supposedly being inflammatory) and Joey Bishop having to intervene to allow the guys to sing "Choice fo Colors" on his show in 1968. These songs lyrics are deep, but any controversy will escape those under 45 who are used to more strident stuff.

The vintage videos are indeed interesting. At a time when James Brown and Jackie Wilson's histrionics and manic gymnastics on the stage brought the houses down, Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions were not big on choreography, but the lyrical content of the songs were such that audiences would actually sit quietly and listen to what they had to say before applauding (as is seen in the "We're a Winner" clip from about 1967). In "This is My Country," soon-to-be star Clifton Davis begins the tune with a powerful poem celebrating the relevance of CM&TI's lyrics in articulating the concerns of Black America (note Fred Cash trying to cover his coughing during Davis' poem). Too bad this doesn't (yet) appear on any record.

The sets involving the songs from 'Superfly" (post Impressions) are interesting to compare with his previous work. During "Freddie's Dead," Curtis's band smokes (the conga player in particular), although fans of the original may miss the horns and strings that define the tune. Haters of Blaxploitation films and the effect they had on Black youth of the day (the Gangster rap/minstrel shows of the 70s) will be pleased to learn that Curtis also hated the film and wrote the music to show the true tragedy of the drug lifestyle that "Stupidfly" celebrated.

In either case, it's a history lesson with a beat that you can dance to. Buy it, learn, and enjoy.

Great Impressions which Stand the Test of Time
Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions didn't just make music, they sent
great sounding and universally useful social messages and it's no exaggeration to say their records were the true heart and soul of many a disc collection. (Just mention the name Curtis Mayfield and a deep warm feeling arises in nearly anyone who has ever heard and been moved by he and they.)
This splendid DVD overview of Curtis, Fred and Sam was long overdue. In addition to welcome video footage including Germany's legendary Beat Club,the Joey Bishop show, "In Concert", some corny Dick Clark staging and much more we get to witness Mayfield's impact be given a proper and fitting perspective from those who were there.
Hearing the Curtis story from the mouths of his wonderful wife Altheida, surviving Impressions Fred Cash and Sam Gooden, Andrew Young, producer Johnny Pate and musicians Carlos Santana and a revealingly impressive Chuck D we learn of ths history, impact, and driving force behind the sound on both the personal and macro levels. And as many of us have always known,that driving force was Curtis's deep love for not just music but for humanity,which,through composition he aimed to bring together.
Bravo to the director, producers and interviewer for this labor of love and gift to fans and will be fans. The gospel of Curtis and company is one that,even now, could benefit our world.Plus his music had a beat..and you could dance to it-even when you danced,as sometimes evidenced here, horribly!

Essential, but not The Definitive Curtis doc
Movin' On Up is a great DVD. You won't see better clips of Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions from their prime period from 1965-1973, both in quality and rarity. Interviews with band mates Fred Cash and Sam Gooden and Curtis' wife, along with interview clips of Curtis himself circa 1987 help round out the piece. This disc is a collector's dream, but might not be the best introduction for the casual fan. Yes, it's far better to have the complete performances in the best possible quality. (With bonus footage, the disc runs nearly 180 minutes, not the 60 listed by Amazon). But unlike Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, The Supremes or The Temptations (other artists that have gotten the RITY treatment), Curtis has not, to my knowledge, had a major biography written on him. So this DVD leaves a lot of empty spaces for the uninitiated. There's plenty of testimony as to why Curtis was so important in his time are mentioned, but it's not really illuminated on. Yes, he borrowed from the church, created Civil Rights anthems and owned his own publishing and record label. However, one of the biggest omissions, in my opinion, is the effect the Impressions had on Jamaican music, specifically Bob Marley and the Wailers. Without "People Get Ready," there is no "Redemption Song." While this is an excellent DVD, there still, however is room for a truly definitive doc on this genius of soul. Keep up the good work, Reelin' In The Years. Keep raising the bar on Music film reissues.