70s Cup Round 1 Match 16 *Griff 12- algroth 20*

[trans-chigley express]

A tough choice here but the fact I let that Fela Kuti carry on for it's full length without once stopping or fast-forwarding strongly suggests it had me it its groove so I'll give to B for that reason alone

B

[Darkness_Fish]

I prefer this to the other Curtis track so far, stripped back, without the extraneous embellishments I can concentrate on the song, it creates its atmosphere much more solidly for me. Makes me think that there must be a 70s cop film where there's a montage of kids being miserable in graffiti-stained concrete slums with this playing in the background.

I'm inclined to automatically vote for Fela, because I know his stuff better, and I'm not sure I can listen to a track for a full 15 minutes of my work lunchtime. I guess where I can get with Fela more than the American stuff is the primal drive behind everything, he never gets soupy, there's never a softening of the sound. When the brass comes in, its an attack, when the backing vocals come in (if they do here), it's an attack, when Fela sings, it's an attack. It's just a consistent, insistent drive <insert Top Gear pun here>.

Tough call, but I'm going with the Fela. B

[Polishgirl]

I can only abstain. Soz.

[fange]

Two more tracks that i would love to vote for, damn
The Fela is a more immediate high with it's stellar percussion and funky groove, but the Curtis has a more subtly tense but no less beautiful groove, at least to me.



A

[Penk!]

I love 'Billy Jack': it's from an album I've never paid much attention to but it's tight, slinky, menacing and uncharacteristically minimal. Nice pick!
I can enjoy Fela Kuti as well, there's sheer power and creativity there, but I just never want to sit and listen to it. It's a bit like James Brown for me: too full-on. No room to breathe.

A

[WG Kaspar]

A

[Neige]

B is great!!

[joels344]

B is awesome.

[Sneelock]

wow, the Fela is great but I want to pack a lunch and hang out in Billy Jack for a couple of hours. I think it's splendid.

A

[Ranking Ted]

You wait all this time for one Curtis Mayfield and... anyway, this is a much more sultry and slinky vibe from him, from the mid 70s rather than just adjacent to those early decade home runs. It’s ace, isn’t it? That sustained groove, his magnificent falsetto, the brass lifting it at the right moment.... against it is Fela Kuti who’s an artist I’m not sure I’ve heard before despite his fame/reputation. And the comments about it being an all out assault with little room to breathe ring true to me. Interesting but I’d rather listen to Curtis again.

A

[algroth]

This is a more enjoyable Curtis track for me than the last one, but it's up against a monster in B too. A great and impossibly groovy match on both sides, but it's B for me.

[toomanyhatz]

Surprised nobody's mentioned this yet, but A is Curtis clearly enthralled by Marley. The opening could be from Catch a Fire. I like it a lot, but Fela's in a world of his own, and B is pretty close to the top of his many 70s tracks.

[never/ever]

I heart both tracks but Fela has something sumptuous going on....

B

[The Red Heifer]

B

[Rayge]

a - Curtis Mayfield lit up the 1960s like a harmonic beacon. Then he ditched the Impressions, fell in love with his effects pedals and turned to shit – relatively speaking, of course, he still had a gorgeous voice, just employed it on dreary, often overlong songs/jams in a genre I could never stand. Stopped this halfway through. It's just too sad. 4 / 10
b - now this guy I never really bothered with, so no sense of disappointment - oh fuck me, 15 minutes of this twitchiness! Lasted one, skipped through, found nothing of interest. Ugh. No mark

Give it to A for the memories

[never/ever]

Griff 12

algroth 20