Got to Find a Way was Mayfield’s fifth solo album and appeared hard on the heels of the Back to the World, an ambitious record whose string-steeped production matched its conceptual audacity. Though Got to Find a Way found Curtis collaborating with many of the players from Back to the World (including arranger Richard Tufo and the veteran rhythm section of Lucky Scott, Tyrone McCullen, and Henry Gibson), it boasted a markedly more minimal, introverted sound and represented somewhat of a turn away from the mass audience Mayfield had won with chartbusting crossover hits like “Pusherman” and “Move on Up.” But if anything, songs like the quietly sublime “A Prayer” and the desperation-wracked “Cannot Find a Way” see Mayfield refining his art and stand as some of his finest compositions. A quiet masterpiece, Got to Find a Way is as essential to understanding Curtis Mayfield’s life and work as any of his more commercially successful releases.