6 Curtis Mayfield Roots CURTOM 1971 £5

You Say: “Mad this gem came so soon after Curtis.” Baz Coulson, via e-mail

Roots was his second classic solo album – seven strong songs, excellent band and orchestral arrangements. Funky opener Get Down predicts the loose grooves Marvin Gaye would cut in the mid-tolate ’70s and plays like disco’s precursor. Keep On Keeping On evolves Move On Up’s aspirational theme and he grapples with environmental issues on Underground which, like an H.G. Wells sci-fi story, pictures a planet despoiled by man, forcing us to live beneath the surface: “We’ll all turn black, so who’s to know…” But his music is irrepressibly optimistic at its core – We Got To Have Peace and Beautiful Brother Of Mine, driven by compelling drums/ congas, blow away the clouds. Typically, Love To Keep You In My Mind closes with a message of constancy and hope.