A million years ago, in 1992, Us3 were EVERYWHERE with their Herbie Hancock sampling Cantaloupe. Seriously, you couldn’t move for it. Now, the brain behind it has returned, again taking inspiration from a track which has too long lounged in the shadows. Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly album is quite rightly considered a classic of not just soul and funk but of music written for cinema. One of its lesser hailed tracks is Give me Some Love, a slow burner of a track which takes a while to get going but then grabs you and doesn’t let go. We don’t say this lightly – YLD’s version actually improves on the original, cutting to the chase and giving you the ferociously catchy meat of the matter and giving new life to a song which previously felt like a prelude, not the main event.
Here are some more interpretations of Curtis well worth investigating:
Garage legends, The Dirtbombs, capture all of the original’s twisted vibes and turns it up to 11. Possibly even 12.
One of music’s great overlooked treasures, Baby Huey‘s one and only album features a gigantic and psychedelic version of Curtis’ Hard Times
Angelique Kidjo – Move On Up
Taking Curtis’ passion for his African heritage to a new level, Angelique’s pounding cover of Move On Up is only tempered by the always unwelcome blustering of Bono.
Fishbone – Freddie’s Dead
Another great reinvention which still manages not to lose the beauty of the original. Again from the Superfly soundtrack, Fishbone add their funk metal to Freddie’s Dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1LpiDVImAU
https://vimeo.com/268780681/e3db51616d
https://vimeo.com/268780681/e3db51616d
https://vimeo.com/268780681/e3db51616d
https://vimeo.com/268780681/e3db51616d
