In his forty odd years as musician, Chicago native Curtis Mayfield career took his fans to mountain and back, and we are all better people for the journey. It will be sometime in the future when Mayfield's considerable contributions to popular music will be fully realized. Co-founder of the Impressions with Jerry Butler, Curtis' deep roots in early doo-wop and latin music is reflected in their early chart-topper, "Gypsy Woman". Butler left the Impressions and Mayfield took the reigns and wrote and produced the long streak of gospel influenced hits associated the their classic era. Songs like "Amen", "People Get Ready" and "Keep On Pushing" became touchstones of the civil rights movement and songs of hope for the downtrodden. By the end of the sixties, when Mayfield went solo, his songcraft developed a deep harmonic complexity and along with Marvin Gaye, Curtis became one of great topical composers of the era. He embraced the newly emerging funk music, pioneered by James Brown and his perfoming ensemble struck dance ready groove as Mayfield became one of great guitar innovators of the seventies. He began experimenting with a wah-wah pedal and using sonic atomospheric washes of sound, as a counterpoint to the rock steady bass grooves. Subsequently his guitar playing became widely imitated by both rythym and blues and rock and roll guitarists.

In 1972, Mayfield wrote the soundtrack to "Superfly" a small movie aimed at exploiting a black target audience. The album is arguably the best movie soundtrack of the 1970s and Mayfield directed his energies to writting soundtracks throughout most of the Seventies including an underrated collboration with Aretha Franklin for the movie "Sparkle". Curtis was also a mezmerizing live performer and the album "Curtis Live" is a showcase of the silky Mayfield falsetto, his highly stylized guitar playing and his genius as a bandleader. By the beginning of the Eighties, Mayfield's popularity was declining due to the rise of hip-hop but Mayfield continued to tour and record. In 1990, Mayfield was seriously injured when a lighting rig fell on him during a concert in Brooklyn. Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down as a result.

There are feats of artistic determination that stagger the imagination of us mere mortals. Henri Matisse became so ill he could no longer paint at his easel, so he improvised colorful and brillant cut-outs of scraps of paper while bedridden. Michaelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel on his back, atop a precarious network of scaffolding that rose from the floor nearly three stories to the ceiling. To record "New World Order", Curtis Mayfield had to lie flat on his back with a boom microphone and record a single line at a time. It is a stunning testament to the will of a man who had been all but written off as an artist, because of his injuries. Most of the songs here had to be sung and written down by friends and relatives. Curtis' soprano is as smooth as ever and he is still capable of sliding into his trademark falsetto. The guitars and synthesiers are played by a group of proxy musicians who are obviously familar with the Mayfield syle. The arrangements have the indeliable stamp of a Mayfield production.

The songs are in the classic mode of Mayfield's socially conscious era of songcraft. Mayfield deals with the gap between expectations and reality as he appropriates the right-wing catchphrase "New World Order" and transforms it into a song of hope. "The Got Dang Song" is a bubbling reggae number that sounds like it could have been written by Bob Marley, his Jamaican soul brother. "Just A Little Bit Of Love" revisits the Mayfield's lifelong theme of redemption through love. "Back To Living Again" is a song where Curtis comes to terms with his injury and is, as always, a beacon of optimisim. Considered as a whole, "New World Order" is among the finest of Mayfield's recordings and is a stunning coda to a brilliant career.

I still don't know why I purchased this disc. I had no exposure to Mayfield's music, I bought it on a whim. One fine whim, I'll tell you. I put it on while working on the computer, listening to it as background music. Soon the computer was off, my feet were up, the lights were dimmed and my ears were tuned in. It's a fantastic group of songs, mesmerizing. They suck you in, one by one. Mayfield has a beautiful voice that rides well with the songs. I can listen and listen over and over, it is joyful and relaxing to listen to. I have never reviewed a disc before, but I am compelled to write about New World Order. Listen to it and I'm sure you'll agree. My credit to the artist, and I agree with Aretha....Go 'head, Mayfield!

Every now and then a recording comes out that moves me in such a way that I feel a connection with the artist and his vision. NEW WORLD ORDER by Curtis Mayfield is one of those recordings and it surely has deep meaning to me. Left paralyzed after an accident in 1990, Curtis' vocal tracks were recorded in segments as he was reclined in his wheelchair to make him as comfortable as possible. This bears mentioning only because it correlates with the theme of the recording. Faith, hope and love are topically woven throughout NEW WORLD ORDER. The title track is an intense, lyrically prophetic track that conveys a true sense of hope about a new day for all of God's children, complete with vintage Curtis-esque wah-wah guitar fills (courtesy of guitarist Gary Thompson). The sense of urgency about this album is not only for the black community but for ALL who share in the vision of loving God and loving one another. "Jesus wept, but hope and faith He kept...it's a new day...", sings Curtis on the title track. The love songs on NEW WORLD ORDER are very classy and today's artists could sure take a tip from Curtis in the area of moral responsibility. I found it surprising and disappointing that Curtis' son Blaise actually used a profanity in his cameo rap on JUST A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE. It's unfortunate because as a DJ for both radio and events I won't play this because of that fact. It makes me wonder how and why he got away with that one. That negative aside, NEW WORLD ORDER shines with positivity including the track BACK TO LIVING AGAIN which features a guest spot by Aretha Franklin. OH SO BEAUTIFUL is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard and shows that growing up in poverty and opression (as did Curtis) doesn't mean one has to think and act negatively. He sings, "To see the sun do shine/you've got to come out sometimes...reaching out in harmony/praying for longevity...just trying trying to find some meaning of my life". NEW WORLD ORDER is a recording with appeal to children and their parents that it's time to get it together- life ain't no joke. Curtis Mayfield passed on in December '99 but not without leaving us a whole lot to think about and groove to. This recording is a lasting legacy along with that which preceeded it.

No other artist was more aware of the world's political and spiritual pulse than Curtis. Recorded while lying paralyzed as a quadriplegic, if not made aware of his tragic 1990 stage accident, one wouldn't believe he was suffering from any handicap when listening to his still smooth voice. Curtis was the conscience of a people; all people for the 20th century, and "New World Order" picked-up after years of silence without missing a beat. Every track is a listening gem. Curtis just had a way with expressing himself, not only when it came to delivering great messages of wisdom(We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue), a song that with this rerecording still brings tears to my eyes, but also through some of the most heartfelt love songs as well(The Girl I Find Stays On My Mind). We've lost one of the recording world's greatest poets, and "New World Order" was Mr. Mayfield's grand finale.

the man was recording on his back and still gives a 110% on this great disc.his voice is soulful as always.the songs sound as great as his 70's output.he was a timeless genius&legend.he was a maverick.what a writer,producer&vocalist.not to mention one of the baddest guitarists ever.his words always hit home.a must have.