Ranked #67 in the Soul Strut 200

Classic live album from the ex-Impressionist and easily one of the best live soul albums of all time along side Donny Hathaway - Live. This was recorded in 1971 in the infancy of his solo career at the Bitter End in NYC (an intimate 200 seat night club!).  Mayfield performed with just guitar, bass, drums, and percussion.  So you get to hear him raw and stripped down with lots of crowd participation.

The great thing about live soul albums is that the crowd is almost as essential as the band itself. On Curtis/Live!, the audience is hanging on Curtis' every word and reacting at the right times. Especially on "Stone Junkie," where the crowd laughs knowingly, as if Curtis is referring to someone in the room. Curtis/Live! represents a time when soul music was maturing without sounding bland.

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