Curtis Mayfield: Back to the World Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Curtis Mayfield: Back to the World Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 9, 2026

Rhino’s latest aggregation of Quadio Blu-ray releases includes four artists who have all had previous Quadio releases. Curtis Mayfield: Roots, Spinners: Spinners and The Spinners: Pick of the Litter, Graham Central Station: Graham Central Station and The Modern Jazz Quartet: Blues on Bach have already seen the lossless four channel light of day, and kind of interestingly if tangentially, several of the above linked efforts were released almost exactly a year ago in that particular bundle of Quadio offerings. This 1973 album from the late, great Curtis Mayfield may have had some unfortunate timing in that it was the immediate follow up to what was one of Mayfield's biggest smashes as a solo artist, his soundtrack score for Super Fly, which was his only solo album to hit Number 1 on the main album chart. That said, this effort, like several other of Mayfield's recordings, got to the pole position on the R & B chart, and it provides a really solid listening experience with some pointed sociopolitical commentary. The album didn't really produce any huge smash hit singles, though Future Shock managed to just barely climb into the Top 40 at position 39.

The album's track list can be seen in the screenshots of the (static) disc menu I've uploaded to accompany this review.

Curtis Mayfield: Back to the World Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As mentioned above, while there is video content here, like most of Rhino's Quadio line of audio Blu-rays, it's simply a static menu. Longtime readers of my reviews know one of the bugaboos that tends to bother me is inconsistent authoring of these discs in terms of toggling between audio codecs, and in this particular instance, you can not use the color buttons on your remote to choose which audio codec to utilize. Just as unfortunately, navigating to the links on the main menu then starts the song over if a different codec is chosen. If you parse through the screenshots, you can see how the font colors change depending on whether your use the chapter skip or toggle down buttons on your remote to navigate from track to track.

Curtis Mayfield: Back to the World Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Curtis Mayfield: Back to the World features DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options. This is one of the few Quadio Blu-ray discs I've reviewed that has really noticeable hiss leading off several of the tracks before the actual music kicks in, and some of that hiss is actually probably more prominent on the stereo version for some reason (it can also last just a second longer, kind of interestingly). Four channel placement may not be particularly "showy", but it's clearly audible in moments like the percussive opening of Future Shock, where various struck instruments enter the soundstage from different directions. Some of the riff-ier brass and wind accents in songs like Right On for the Darkness can be positioned rearward, with Curtis' plaintive voice anchored more toward the front channels.

Curtis Mayfield: Back to the World Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As usual with Rhino's Quadio line, there are no on disc supplements. The insert booklet reproduces cover images and also includes credits and the typical verbiage on "bass management" along with the traditional photos of master tape boxes.

Curtis Mayfield: Back to the World Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a complex, ambitious album by Mayfield, one that perhaps shows signs of an artist having reached such a pinnacle of success that he feels free to express himself in expanded ways. Back to the World was kind of unfairly subsumed by the immense wake generated by Super Fly, but hopefully this new Quadio releasd will introduce it to new audiences. Recommended.