There's No Place Like America Today

There's No Place Like America Today is the seventh studio album by Curtis Mayfield, released in 1975 on Curtom Records.[1] It peaked at number 120 on the Billboard 200 chart,[2] as well as number 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[3]

There's No Place Like America Today
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1975 (1975-05)
StudioCurtom Studios, Chicago, Illinois
Genre
Length35:23
LabelCurtom
ProducerCurtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield chronology
Got to Find a Way
(1974)
There's No Place Like America Today
(1975)
Let's Do It Again
(with The Staple Singers)

(1975)
Singles from There's No Place Like America Today
  1. "So in Love / Hard Times"
    Released: 1975
  2. "Love to the People / Only You Babe"
    Released: 1975

Album cover

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The album cover was based on a 1937 monochrome photograph by Margaret Bourke-White, titled At the Time of the Louisville Flood, on which the advertising slogan was "There's No Way Like the American Way".[1] The original photograph was published in the February 15, 1937 edition of Life magazine.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [5]
Christgau's Record GuideD+[6]

The album was featured in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[7] In 2013, NME placed it at number 373 on the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.[8]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Curtis Mayfield

No.TitleLength
1."Billy Jack"6:10
2."When Seasons Change"5:28
3."So in Love"5:15
4."Jesus"6:13
5."Blue Monday People"4:50
6."Hard Times"3:45
7."Love to the People"4:07
Total length:35:23
Reissue edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
8."Hard Times" (Long Version)3:57

Personnel

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Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • Curtis Mayfield – vocals, guitar, keyboards, production
  • Rich Tufo – keyboards, arrangement
  • Gary Thompson – guitar
  • Phil Upchurch – guitar
  • Joseph "Lucky" Scott – bass guitar
  • Quinton Joseph – drums
  • Henry Gibson – percussion
  • Harold Dessent - woodwinds
  • Roger Anfinsen – engineering
  • Ed Thrasher – art direction
  • Peter Palombi – illustration
  • Lockart – design
  • Marv Stuart – management

Charts

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Chart Peak
position
US Billboard 200[2] 120
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[3] 13

References

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  1. ^ a b Bennun, David (April 16, 2015). "Revisiting Curtis Mayfield's There's No Place Like America Today". The Quietus. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Curtis Mayfield - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Curtis Mayfield - Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  4. ^ Cosgrove, Ben (March 24, 2014). "Behind the Picture: 'The American Way' and the Flood of '37". Time. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  5. ^ Eder, Bruce. "There's No Place Like America Today - Curtis Mayfield". AllMusic. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 7, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  7. ^ Dimery, Robert, ed. (2005). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing.
  8. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 400-301". NME. October 23, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
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