Album Notes

Mayfield was a band I formed after moving to New York, a couple of years into my hiatus from Tears For Fears. The premise was to not use my name (hence Mayfield: Curt-is Mayfield, get it?) and just try to rediscover the joys of music through playing live. We played at downtown New York clubs like Brownie’s, Mercury Lounge and CBGB’s. Those were a couple of the most enjoyable years I’ve spent as a musician.

The songs on Mayfield, written with my longtime collaborator Charlton Pettus, were recorded live, with overdubbing and editing used sparingly. The album was originally released in 1997, and we recorded it in just three weeks. Besides myself on bass and lead vocals, Mayfield’s members included Charlton on guitar and backing vocals, Doug Petty on keyboards, Russ Irwin on keyboards and backing vocals, and Shawn Pelton on drums. (Charlton and Doug have also been part of the Tears For Fears touring band since 2004.)

The album’s original tracklist remains intact, in addition to which it now includes a bonus re-recording of the song “Trees.” Musician Janice Whaley, known for The Smiths Project, used multiple loops of her own voice as the instrument bed for the track, to mesmerizing effect I feel, and I laid down a new lead vocal. If you already own Mayfield, don’t feel that you have to buy the whole album all over again to get the bonus song. Feel free to just buy that track.