Curtis Mayfield "Short Eyes OST" (1977)

Rounding off my memorable holiday listening is this Curtis Mayfield soundtrack from the film "Short Eyes." Now this is one depressing ass record, but considered by me, personally, one of Curtis' best I've ever hear. He really taps into some classical elements on a lot of these compositions. Short Eyes is set in an unnamed House of Detention in New York City, the prisoners of which are predominately black or Puerto Rican. One day, a new prisoner is brought in: Clark Davis, a young, middle-class white man accused of raping a young girl. His fellow prisoners immediately turn on him — pedophiles are considered the lowest form of prison life — except for Juan, one of the institution's older prisoners, who treats him with dignity. While Davis insists he doesn't remember raping the girl, he admits that he has molested several other children. Nevertheless, the case against him is weak and, unless Juan tells prison authorities about Davis' confessions to him, it is only a matter of time before he is set free. As Juan struggles with what to do, the other prisoners plan to rid themselves of Davis permanently... Curtis actually appears in the film as a prisioner performing the song "Doo Doo Wop Is Strong In Here"... The album is brought to us courtesy of Blog - O - Blog, where the really believe it's quality over quantity, so stop off and see them...

Track listing:

1. “Do Do Wap is Strong in Here”
2. “Back Against the Wall”
3. “Need Someone to Love”
4. “A Heavy Dude”
5. “Short Eyes/Freak, Freak, Free, Free, Free”
6. “Break It Down”
7. “Another Fool in Love”
8. “Father Confessor (Instrumental)”