Darker Than Blue (Classic Sound, 1996)

Devon Russell may be better known to some listeners as Devon Irons, as he cut a few songs with Lee "Scratch" Perry in the '70s like "Vampire."  But here he shows that he can put out some magical stuff without the aid of Scratch.  Sporting a gruff falsetto impressively similar to Curtis Mayfield's, Russell recorded these covers of Mayfield's tunes in the early '80s.  The ease with which Mayfield's songs convert to reggae was evident when The Wailers remade his "Keep on Moving" way back when.  Russell also does a remake -- here titled "I Gotta Keep Moving" -- adding little to a cut I never liked a whole lot.  He does strike gold, though, with a trio of songs that reveal not only the genius of Mayfield, but also Russell's own ability to adapt this material.  "Love to the People" is a peaceful little ditty -- both the original and the remake -- and Russell stretches the song's potential, his version rivaling Mayfield's.  Likewise, his "Move on Up" -- featuring the lovely horn riff of the original, alongside an added funky bass line -- is just about as good as Mayfield's.  However, where Russell truly brings forth both men's genius is in "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue," in which he adds an inspired, bouncy, ultra-funky digital bass line and speeds up the beautiful melody slightly, making this a masterpiece.  Along with the other two songs, this alone makes the album worthwhile, even though the remaining tunes aren't great, since Russell chose several of Mayfield's more mediocre songs.