AL GREEN: CLASSIC OR DUD?

Um, no, he doesn't. Classic, probably the best of all the great soul singers. But it's not just about the voice - the amazing no-frills metronomic Hi backbeat has a lot to do with why his records are so good. "Al Green Is Love" is probably my favourite soul non- compilation album ever.

SHAME ON YOU ALL.

Some of you are WRITERS. All, or most of you, claim to "love music". And yet this is the best you can do, a few shrugs and spindly sentences. This is the MAN. He has made the world an infinitely better place by just being around. BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP.

UBER-classic.

http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/green-76.php

esp the first two paragraphs

i can't think of another artist/band for whom my love (and yeah it goes beyond a deep and abiding affection or respect or whutever) is so unexamined, so basic and (dare i say it) pure.

I really like Otis Clay's Hi singles, like "Let Me Be the One."

More later.

Kind of a surprise: I'm reviewing the reissues of those first Al Green albums on Hi, and Green Is Blue actually stacks up pretty well. Bonus track of him singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is OMG killa fire-honoring cover of all time

Ann Peebles'"Trouble, Heartaches, and Sadness" is another Hi-Records gem that Al Green lovahs should search from her great album, "Straight From the Heart."

But them bonus tracks is special. Green Is Blues includes not only "I Want to Hold Your Hand" but also two originals and a cover of Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee"; Gets Next to You has a nice long version of "Ride Sally Ride" and a couple more.

Mitchell's Royal Recording studio is still there in S. Memphis. Last time I visited the Big "S" Grill made a very good barbecue sandwich, good jukebox, and there's always Josie's Tamales near there if you need tamales, not to mention Blue Suede Shoe Shine...

also, as others have mentioned here, there's a wealth of great stuff by other Hi artists like Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright, Otis Clay & Syl Johnson if you want more of that sound - what a band! Al Jackson and the Grimes bros, Willie Mitchell production... oh, oh, and Jess Hill is otm about the "Love Ritual" collection - "Up Above My Head is my favourite Al track maybe... sorry, it's just so fucking good... I'm about to fall off my chair again.

Like Stax/Volt etc., Hi's output was so prolific that a lot of horn and string charts, melodies, lyrical ideas, etc. got recycled. I have absolutely no problem with that whatever. It's actually a good way to determine what a given singer brings to the table.

I actually really like the later Hi stuff, from the late '70s, which both is slightly hampered by and benefits from a certain slackness, or quietude. Examples would be Ann Peebles's If This Is Heaven, Syl Johnson's Total Explosion, Al Green's Have a Good Time, etc.

O.V. Wright is sort of a force of nature; his Hi stuff sounds more like his pre-Hi stuff than you'd expect. He doesn't go "uptown" as much as other Hi artists of the period. "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha" is a great balance though.

Crosspost w/Fritz!

I don't really know, not having ventured into it... though the oft-maligned "The Belle Album" - the transitional one - is quite good.

I was re-reading some Xgau reviews the other day and came across something he said about Green and the rhythm-section thing happening on those classic Hi records. Xgau says something about the "thick 3rd-beat" emphasis of the drumming and as far as I can tell that's a classic howler--Xgau can't count. He's hearing the second beat as the third beat for some reason--he's counting the eighth notes as quarter notes.

search Hi Rhythm's On the Loose, reissued a couple years ago w/some photo instead of whatever the original cover art was. they're not kidding--it's really loose, like about-to-fall-apart loose, and extremely charming for it

I love Al Green btw.

Ace Al Green track, the one I love above all: "Love is Real." The way he says "Say something..."

-- M Matos

Man, all I said was that I can count. Maybe that's a shockah where you come from.

I will leave that sentance as it stands for Dan's pleasure, but you know what I mean.

The thing that is interesting is the obvious connection between what Mitchell did and what Gamble and Huff did in Philly...and both scene's obvious role in the beginnings of disco music.

Jackson's drum sound on Stax records sounds quite a bit different than his sound on Hi records (at least in their respective golden ages). Hmm.

By "Mitchell drum sound" I meant the signature production style, not Grimes' playing, which is not in question.

Al Green obviously still has it when he cares to put out, it's a sin no one can extract a decent album from him.

Two killer Hi cuts: 'I Don't Know Why" OV Wright
"I Still Love You," Ann Peebles

Al Jackson, RIP

a new Al Green Q&A:
http://www.citypages.com/databank/25/1216/article11995.asp

interview outtakes on gay marriage:
http://babelogue.citypages.com:8080/pscholtes/2004/03/19

some other links for y'all:
The Al Green Ticket Debate
Al Green & Willie together again... should i get my hopes up?
http://www.memphisflyer.com/MFSearch/full_results.asp?xt_from=1&aID=5116
http://www.algreenmusic.com/

This is exquisite shagging music, too, I must say. It doesn't matter which girl you bring home, from whatever walk of life and music, she'll always accept Al or Anne, in my limited experience.

Even the b-sides/rarities are gems. I love the "Flipside To Al Green" collection so much.

Could Al Green be the much sought-after answer to the question of the artist EVERYONE agrees is amazing? Let's face it, anyone who doesn't has got serious issues.

And fuck me if the album 'I Can't Stand the Rain' (Ann Peebles) isn't a contender for best soul long-player of all time.

I like all his stuff but I always go back to the "Listen" comp. I love "Love Is Real" and "Mimi" and "I Think It's for the Feeling."

I also saw the Hi Rhythm Section a couple times while I lived in Memphis. Howard Grimes was incredible. He plays like Al Jackson but it's a little looser, maybe, and if anything even straighter. Teenie Hodges is one of my favorite guitarists, ever, in any style.

i love al to death but i dont think he has any great albums... the true love compilation is really amazing though, not a bad track on there.

"Al Green Explores Your Mind" is great. Reminds me of the summer I pwned Virtua Tennis on the Dreamcast.

classic in my eyes

i love al to death but i dont think he has any great albums

You're missing out, man!

Al Green Gets Next To You is fire! Let's Stay Together is yoga flame! But I don't think it gets better than I'm Still in Love With You.

hmm.

i actually harbour evil suspicions about people that dont like al green. if you dont love him, fine, but if you dont like him? something sinister is at work.

If you actively dislike Al Green, then I can never respect anything you have to say about anything.

the best al green album is the 'true love' compilation.

no, it isn't...The Belle Album is...wonderful way of dealing with born-again-ism ("it's you I want but Him that I need"...the holy trinity love triangle)..."Feels Like Summer" couldn't be a more appropriate song title, and "Dream", well, if I ever get hitched (ILM Poster In Unmarried SHOCKER!) that will be "our" song...(if I can sell it, which I'm sure I can)...

I'm very fond of Livin' For You's "Beware."

This is still the most retarded question ever asked on ILM.

HOOS otm

the best al green album is the belle album

arguable

no

haha yes. but belle is at least top 3 rite

Rite. Classic album.

georgia boy owns 99.9% of everything ever

Those who like the follow-up to The Belle Album should come vote on this thread: Best Version Of "I Say A Little Prayer"

On one listen, liking his new album quite a bit. Even the Corrine Bailey Rae duet.

not heard it all yet but thought the songwriting on the tracks i have checked out werent quite as strong as the production/instrumentation. or maybe its just that his voice cant make them seem better than they are anymore.

We play it at on the stereo at my bookstore, and beneath the racket of customers, it's sounds pretty indistinguishable from Classic Al. There doesn't seem to be a real killer track, but it's very pleasant, and I think I appreciate "pleasant" a lot more these days than I used to.

I will be purchasing this album as soon as humanly possible.

And yeah, this was the dumbest question ever asked on ILM. How can you ever question the good Reverend?

the title track is gorgeous.

On Letterman tonight.

i'm offended someone even asked this question.

Can anyone copypasta that story about Al Green and the hot grits that his girlfriend threw at him?

show last night here was amazing.

"Belle Album" as far as I can tell has never been maligned

Hard to believe I know, but it is maligned in the sleevenotes to "The Legendary Hi Albums, Volume 3" which, of course, includes... "The Belle Album"! The guy who wrote the sleevenotes, who is obv. an Al Green fan, says that "The Belle Album" was a big disappointment when it was released + goes on to criticise the musicianship and esp. use of the string synth. Rather incredibly he seems to consider "Truth n' Time" and "Have a Good Time" as better albums!

Yeah, you hate to call deafness on other writers, but . . .

A really filp and facile thing to say would to be that "The Belle Album" is, in some ways, Al Green's "There's a Riot Goin' On"... so, being a flip and facile guy, I'm going to say that "The Belle Album" is, in some ways, Al Green's "There's a Riot Goin' On".

This past week on The Best of Soul Train, they reran the ep from '74 when the Rev opened and closed the show playing live with his road band
Killer.

FUCK. The first time in at least a few months that I've missed Soul Train and they show one with Al Green!!

Watched that one, too. Why was Al's right arm in a sling?

Burnin' grits?

OMG that soul train was so so good. It's so rare that they did live shows and even rarer that they let the artist do two songs back to back and goddamn did he tear it up. Everything onstage at that performance was dope: the pink toms, the purple glitter hoody on the cat playing congas... such a sweet piece of video.

It's been a few good weeks on Soul Train: Letta M'bulu and Yellow Magic Orchestra lately!

SHUT UP YOU GUYS

Oh, yeah, that Letta M'bulu show was cool, if if it was a lip-synch. DC was actually dignified & respectful with her. The live performance I keep hoping they'll re-broadcast is Earth Wind & Fire doing the whole hour.

YMO did an electronic cover of Tighten Up that was the coolest fuckin thang.

OMG that soul train was so so good. It's so rare that they did live shows and even rarer that they let the artist do two songs back to back and goddamn did he tear it up. Everything onstage at that performance was dope: the pink toms, the purple glitter hoody on the cat playing congas... such a sweet piece of video.

It's been a few good weeks on Soul Train: Letta M'bulu and Yellow Magic Orchestra lately!

Yeah, I saw the Al Green and YMO episodes too! I posted elsewhere about the assholism that Don Cornelius put on display with YMO ("Ahahaha, they're Japanese and they have funny names!")

I only caught the last Al Green song, " ", but he had flowers all over the stage and his hand along with the mic, he was wearing hot yellow pants, and his arm is in a cast. Effortless dominance.

"Here I am (Come and Take Me)", I meant to add in there, d'oh.

"Georgia Boy"

That might be my favorite song of all time.

Along with four or five other al green tracks, then it gets to the heathens....

But "georgia boy"

"Stand Up" a close second

A second.

GEORGIA BOY FOR ALL TIME, OM FUCKING G

long time coming

Watched that one, too. Why was Al's right arm in a sling?

This was before the grits thing. During the interview Don asked him about this injury, and Al replied something along the lines of "After a show, me and some of my fans had a disageement on whether or not I should have gotten into my car." (IIRC, I think his hand got smashed by a car door after a gig).

GEORGIA BOY FOR ALL TIME, OM FUCKING G

― strgn, Wednesday, July 23, 2008 5:19 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark

"Beware"

He is good drinking music.

― , Monday, 5 March 2001 01:00 (11 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh guys Belle so incredible wrassling with yr better instincts and yr proper instincts

Almost scuppered by Mr Mouthy:

http://devonrecordclub.com/2013/11/23/al-green-im-still-in-love-with-you-round-58-toms-selection/

What's the next Al Green album to get?

there are weak spots, but i'll love the belle album forever.

no weak spots, just slightly-less-excellent spots. yeah Belle for sure.

i mean just get everything ffs

Back in the mid '90s when I lived in North Carolina I went on a road trip to see the New York Giants play against Tennessee. It was in 1997 the first year after they moved from Houston so they were playing in Memphis and still known as the Oilers.

In an era that saw the internet not quite as expansive as it is now, I planned my trip using SPIN Underground U.S.A.: The Best of Rock Culture Coast to Coast. The book grabbed an indie-rock dignitary from a couple dozen cities/scenes and had them list the places to go when in those cities.

I forget who did Memphis but I followed his instructions: The Sunday of the game I went to Miss. Ellen's soul food. The place was in the middle of possible the worst neighborhood, me and one friend from my group were the only white folk in the place; everyone was so nice to us and they were amazed that the place was in a book. To this day the best fried chicken I have ever had.

But before the soul food and after the game, I went to the church that the guy in the book suggested: The place that the Reverend Al Green preached. We were ushered in, a motley trio (me, Giants fan and metalhead; a friend from Scrabble club who didn't know much about football but went along for the experience; a black dude from Harlem from my Giants fan club in Raleigh), but it was cool since there were a bunch of tourists among the locals who understood the deal with us interlopers.

After some supporting acts, suddenly Al Green made his way to the mic.

"Some people come here to hear me preach," he said. "Some people came to hear me sing. Today... I'm gonna sing."

And sing he did. And it was amazing, seeing this master of Motown give it his all for a 3/4 empty church. We weren't there for a spiritual lift but hearing him sing up close and personal, we got it anyway.

So, yeah. Total classic.

I love that gritty r'n'b thing he does to perfection on I Can't Get Next To You but I think that is the only place, the lp that is, where he uses that exact style.
Great voice and he is interesting elsewhere but that sound is one of my favourite styles.

Lydia Lunch once described the sound of 8 Eyed Spy as a cross between Al Green and somebody, possibly CCR. I always wondered what part of Al Green it was and assume it must be that particular thing I love.

master of Motown

???

Not directly, but there was a connection.

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=3089852

http://s.pixogs.com/image/R-3089852-1315236256.jpeg

http://s.pixogs.com/image/R-3089852-1315236256.jpeg

http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc462/aztreasures/7-10-13%20lpbox18/100_9018.jpg

when worlds collide

My copy of "The Belle Album" is on Motown

I wouldn't call him a Motown master unless I wanted to confuse people

al green is just about the most consistent artist ever. not every album is great, but every album is better than good-- even the ones critics like to say are "bad" just to set up some "comeback."

of course his run of LPs in the 1970s is the equal or better of any run of LPs by anyone, ever. stunning. and don't sleep on his gospel records. if i am put on the spot and asked for a favorite singer or musician, this is who i name.

also there are people (like my mom, if I don't correct her) who hear any soul music and assume it's motown.

if you can distinguish motown from stax/volt you are already in a small minority. alas.

if you can distinguish hi records from stax/volt, you are one in a million.

Fat Possum now distributes Hi Records for the world. We begin with the European re-release of Al Green's Greatest Hits, Let's Stay Together & I'm Still In Love With You. Those titles are In Stores Now!

the great Teenie Hodges

RIP Teenie Hodges

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2014/jun/23/songwriter-guitarist-and-anchor-hi-rhythm-mabon-te/

During Hi Records' glory years starting in the late '60s, Mr. Hodges wrote or co-wrote many classics of the R&B genre, including a succession of hits with and for Al Green: "Here I Am," "Full of Fire," "Take Me to the River" and "Love and Happiness"

Mr. Hodges was also the cornerstone of the famed Hi Rhythm band

damn, RIP

RIP Teenie

More recently, Mr. Hodges recorded in support of his nephew, the hip-hop star Drake.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2014/06/25/4a5d0192-fbd4-11e3-b1f4-8e77c632c07b_story.html

Sam Moore and Mavis Staples sing "Take Me to the River" for Al Green at the Kennedy Center Honors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc3BqMl1NII

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/al-green-the-soul-legend-and-kennedy-center-honoree-is-still-tired-of-being-alone/2014/12/05/457f2c3e-75b6-11e4-a755-e32227229e7b_story.html

During our 45-minute window, Green is energetic, quick to laugh, even quicker to break into song. But his left foot won’t stop tapping anxious 16th notes into the carpet.

One-on-one conversation seems difficult for him. He answers most questions with forthright brevity, then darts off on scattered digressions.

Ask about his relationship with his church, he laments the rise of the drug trade in Memphis. Ask whether stardom made him a better preacher, he volunteers the fact that his first love was a prostitute who introduced him to a dangerous social circle. Ask about his mentor, producer Willie Mitchell, Green reminisces about an unrelated bar fight that required him to neutralize an opponent carrying a switchblade. “Always hold the hand with the knife!” he shouts, offering hard-knock-life tips with a belly laugh.

Perhaps these broken strands of communication are Green’s way of explaining that he has seen life on the other side and that instead of examining his current struggles, he’d rather purge up memories of traumas conquered long ago.

please tell me some al green songs that are long and jammy like this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pupeAPWStR4

i have his whole discog and can find greatness up through at least the belle album, but yeah, i'm still in love with you is the best soul album i've ever heard

there is greatness long after the belle album imo

Yo did anyone see this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCHP7hYZZTk

Lechera! "Beware" is often my favorite Green song. It's dangerous!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT99vMay_pU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q-hONahmU0

I have this on the Love Ritual odds n end comp!

A few other long ones:

"I Didn't Know" 7:49 (1975)
"Dream" 7:28 (1977)
"Georgia Boy" 7:00 (1977)
"For The Good Times" 6:27 (1972)

anyone with the slightest interest in al green needs the see the movie "gospel according to al green"

green has an incredible amount of charisma, but he's an eccentric through and through. his speech patterns are hypnotizing.

it doesn't surprise me in the least that he lives alone in the woods.

agggggh georgia boy is killing me

i love beware so much i usually listen to it 3x in a row because i never want it to end. i need to make an al green mix for my car so thank you all for your input.

love sermon is my new favorite al green longjam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmGJFU9_h7w&list=RDkmGJFU9_h7w#t=398

Went to Reverend Al's church yesterday and heard him sing, preach, read scripture, tell jokes, and offer condolences. So classic.

Gets next to you is fantastic. Seems to hit a version of r'n'b that should be archetypal.
Next couple change focus a bit and I wish there was more like this.

The new biography that's out, Soul Survivor, is quite good. McDonough definitely has his quirks but he conveys honest appreciation and love of the work versus some of Al's sketchier sides. But it's also a great overview of Hi Records in general, the first I've ever seen myself.

So Memphis has banners hanging with Al Green song titles on Main Street--"Love and Happiness" and "Let's Stay Together"

http://esotolson.com/my-work/downtown-mempht-pole-banners/

have been listening to Al Green is Love today. Love Ritual = reet choon!

I've been diving deep into Green's discography lately. I'm convinced his 70s' output was one of the most consistent runs ever, comparable to the Beatles and Dylan in the 60s, Sinatra in the 50s, Louis Armstrong in the 20s and early 30s, etc.

Here’s Xgau’s ratings for Green’s ’70s albums —  13 non-comp records and only a couple of "stinkers."

Al Green Gets Next to You [Hi, 1970] A
Let's Stay Together [Hi, 1972] A-
Al Green [Bell, 1972] B-
I'm Still in Love With You [Hi, 1972] A-
Call Me [Hi, 1973] A+
Livin' for You [Hi, 1973] A
Al Green Explores Your Mind [Hi, 1974] B+
Al Green's Greatest Hits [Hi, 1975] A
Al Green Is Love [Hi/The Right Stuff, 1975] A
Full of Fire [Hi, 1976] A-
Have a Good Time [Hi, 1976] B+
Al Green's Greatest Hits Volume II [Hi, 1977] A-
The Belle Album [Hi, 1977] A
Love Ritual [Hi, 1978] B-
Truth n' Time [Hi, 1979] B+

Yeah even his lesser albums from the late 70s have some fantastic songs on them. And although the narrative is that he went gospel and fell off, that isn't really the case. They're less consistently fantastic than his peak 70s stuff, but a lot of those 80s albums are excellent in their own right.

Agree with xgau on Full of Fire and The Belle Album

Yep. This guy made albums – like, with album tracks as good or superior to singles.

Lot of well-deserved love upthread for The Belle Album. That's the one I listen to the most at this point.

the version of "unchained melody" on livin' for you occurs in deep time imo

ive been feeling his "funny how time slips away" so much lately

Livin' for You and the Belle Album are the ones I go back to most frequently. But, yeah: the whole run is pretty solid.

This has been the one killing me lately.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7zclKteJs0

Maybe my favorite of his album tracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pupeAPWStR4

"beware" is a monster

when that acoustic guitar comes out of nowhere...

This one is my personal fav... beyond beautiful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xSj_iFMVJY

New track, cover of “Before the Next Teardrop Falls”:
https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2018/09/13/647053567/hear-al-greens-first-new-recording-in-nearly-a-decade

i love the recreated Hi Records sound

it could be included on any number of his classic records without sticking out, which is a very high bar to clear imo

i sure fucking hope this isn't going to be the album cover:

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51SKWRkMU0L._AA256_.jpg

i hope that didn't take longer than 45 seconds to put together

yeah, i'm kinda wondering what the deal is with new al green tracks in general, though! this new one is part of a compilation of that producer:

Green recorded the track at Sam Phillips Studios with Matt Ross-Spang, the brilliant producer and engineer who is the proprietor of that historic mid-century modern Memphis sound shrine. The recording is part of Amazon Music's new "Produced By" series highlighting the gifts of board masters like Ross-Spang; this week's offerings, all produced by him, also features new material from Margo Price, John Prine and William Bell.

which is cool, but...i mean, can we pretty please have 8-10 more new ones? i would love to hear more.

trying to make Matt Ross-Spang the star here... hmm...

Greatest album artist ever?

That run of albums is pretty hard to top.

The gospel albums sound like FIRE this morning.

^ I love The Belle Album ... what of his gospel discs should I get next?

I'll Rise Again

If I only know "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?" and I like it in a slightly "I could imagine Tindersticks covering this" sort of way ... what Al Green do I listen to next?

see my guide linked here last month

Oh, thanks - I'd missed that.

I'm going to enjoy exploring that.

who did this? 😂 pic.twitter.com/TzJZdbq0Xc

— Al Green (@algreen) September 2, 2020

(holy crap, apparently that's in my hometown!)

haha, yeah i think that was posted on another thread just yesterday. love that al saw it!

by chance, i just so happened to receive 2 al green LPs in the mail! two pretty obscure ones: I'm Still in Love with You and Let's Stay Together :)

is this the first "who did this" tweet where the person who tweeted it didn't do it or knew who did it but decided not to credit them

my al green collection currently:

I'm Still in Love with You *****
Let's Stay Together *****
Livin' For You ****
Call Me *****
Explores Your Mind ****
The Belle Album ******
Precious Lord **

sadly, the original tweet was from the day before, and they did reply to their own tweet with credit:

This is the artists Instagram pic.twitter.com/3KCSQom0Vj

— Barmelo Xanthony (@Actn_jcksn) September 1, 2020

but i guess when al green picked it up he didn't see the reply

my al green collection currently:

I'm Still in Love with You *****
Let's Stay Together *****
Livin' For You ****
Call Me *****
Explores Your Mind ****
The Belle Album ******
Precious Lord **

― Karl Malone, Wednesday, September 2, 2020 8:02 PM (ten minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

as good as it gets tbr

Y'all need Gets Next to You, like, now.

'all need Gets Next to You, like, now.

yep, that's the last one i'm missing that seems really important and obviousobv that was the case with Still in Love and Let's Stay Together, until this afternoon. but are there any others like that? Al Green is Love, Have a Good Time, Full of Fire - anyone have thoughts on those? i can't imagine any of them being _bad_

i had gets next to you once upon a time ;_;

They're not bad but the songwriting, once tight as hell, starts to develop flab.

god, I love Al. lucky enough to see him perform 8 years ago, and other than some high notes that were raspier than previously, he still had it.

need to dig into the albums proper, I just had collections.

playing the title track to "I'm Still in Love With You". every bit of it is fantastic, the chord progressions, his feather-soft vocalizations, that chorus, the backing vocals. gentlest falsetto in the game.

oi. down the rabbit hole I go.

Listen to "Beware." Savor that outro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pupeAPWStR4

minor coincidences on Let's Stay Together and I'm Still in Love With You:

- both released in 1972
- the first side of each features 5 songs, leading off with the legendary title track co-written with Jackson and Mitchell, along with a second co-write with one other musician, and 3 solo green credits.
- the second side of each features 4 songs, starting with 2 covers, and ending with 2 al green originals (although "Look what you done for me" has to ruin it by being a co-write with Mitchell and Jackson)

They're not bad but the songwriting, once tight as hell, starts to develop flab.

yeah, that was generally my feeling about Livin' for You, and allmusic reviews and the like kind of paint a similar picture with Is Love, Have a Good Time, and Full of Fire.

thing is, i would listen to him sing a phone book, so they're still solid. it's hard for there to be a bad al green song.

the thing about have a good time is that it has 'something' on it and that's easily his best ballad and maybe even his best song, full stop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX84PMkoCuE

also: not to worry, it's not the beatles tune.

oh dang, i will listen to that in a moment! that's exactly what i'm looking for - that gem that makes the whole album worth having, if you can find it.

i splurged the other night and got several albums that i've been meaning to get for a long, long time - the 2 ur-legendary al greens i mentioned above, but also Curtis and Muddy Waters Sings 'Big Bill'. my living room is a nice place to be, for a few hours

Livin' For You is a hair's breath less amazing than Call Me.

I was scared to open this thread. When I saw him at Jazzfest last year he was in noticeably not great health and voice. That billboard is beyond awesome.

I have everything from Al Green Gets Next to You through Livin' For You, an unimpeachable five album run, and I have The Belle Album which is also great, but I wound up selling off the four albums in between. The stuff I'd want from those four I already have on a compilation - and it is great stuff - but I didn't feel like those albums had the material to sustain them for the whole LP.

Beyond that, Love Ritual is a great archive/rarities collection, and for someone decades past his hit-making days, I Can't Stop and Lay It Down has some fine cuts. They don't hold up as great albums on closer listening, but there are a few great tracks and at minimum the albums sound good playing in the background.

Wish there was a great live video somewhere, but at least there's some prime shit on YouTube. (The live album from Japan isn't bad, but it feels lacking. Honestly, live albums feel more and more lacking in the age of YouTube.)

Like CCR, a casual fan could live with the famous Greatest Hits never suspecting how the studio albums boast gestalt, deep cuts, and looser arrangements.

*As with CCR

Marley's Legend, too. Wall to wall great tracks, but there's so much more out there.

oh dang, i will listen to that in a moment! that's exactly what i'm looking for - that gem that makes the whole album worth having, if you can find it.

teenie hodges deserves credit for some of those perfect but unlikely chord changes.

yup

I got to meet Teenie once. He was playing a club in New Orleans, and dressed like a ninja.

was he trying to play music in secret?

I was scared to open this thread. When I saw him at Jazzfest last year he was in noticeably not great health and voice. That billboard is beyond awesome.

― Orson Well Yeah (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, September 2, 2020 7:57 PM

Too bad. He looked well and sounded pretty good at his church when I saw him there in August 2017. Although he didn't sound quite as good as when I first saw him outside DC at Wolf Trap Farm Park many years before that.

I saw him in 2012, his "Amazing Grace" was fantastic that evening

Saw him in May last year, and he mentioned difficulties in the past year (alluding to health difficulties). But he was fine and in good spirits walking around, especially when handing out one rose after another. I didn't expect his singing to be in his '70s or even '00s form, especially at 72, but he was mostly fine and there were sublime moments.

I could never get into Al Green. Obviously his own voice is fantastic, but there's something about his stuff that's just really flat. I don't know if it's the production jobs or whatever, but the actual music invariably sounds a bit lifeless.

Lifeless ??
I mean, it's all a question of taste obviously, but lifeless is quite an amazingly mind boggling description of his music !
It's so vibrant and groovy and sensual. Love him.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEprvjwA4ZJ/

(Ah, of course that was what revived this thread in the first name--apologies for the double-poewhoawhoawhoawhoast [it is the Al thread after all])

(place, that is)

he was mostly fine and there were sublime moments.

Just wanted to add that this was really my experience too. The health/voice concerns were mostly when he seemed winded and would sit and sip Gatorade for a bit and let the audience singalong power the song. The high points of the show were joyous.

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/festivals/article_2e73dbe9-8dce-5107-9486-aa5226689125.html

want to just stick up for "truth n' time" which, while maybe not on par with the peak HI / hodges / willie mitchell records, i think is definitely worth a spin. and it will only take less than 27 minutes of your time !

This might work on the 'songs which' thread but listening to the Belle Album and wondering if, like in the title track, there are any other tracks which are explicitly about a threesome with big JC?

Dylan's "Covenant Woman".

Shout Factory TV posted this on YouTube a month ago - it's the full episode but skip to 22:00, Green starts his half-hour set after the break. Grab it while you can, this is some damn hot shit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBjBgVwbCw4

h/t to Jimmy McDonough who turned me on to this appearance.

Man, it's actually not a half-hour, it's two songs, then a third about 20 minutes later, but still great stuff, especially for how it's shot.

The second number, "I'm So Tired of Being Alone," is just AWESOME, especially when the camera floats up close and circles to his front. Just a flat-out AMAZING performance.

Wow thanks for that it’s fantastic indeed !
What a magnetic performer.

h/t to Jimmy McDonough who turned me on to this appearance.

This is another of those threads we all have to be careful bumping. (throws salt over shoulder.)

Do love the gets next ToYou album which is where teh studio version of the Tired of being Alone appears.
I think the version soul/r'n'b that the band is playing on that lp is about an absolute apex of teh form for me but was apparently just a point the band was passing through on their way somewhere else.

Finding something similar with the band backing Little Richard on the Rill Thing. Sublime but I think just a transitory thing that was part of a longer curve or not dependent on whether that band actually played together more. Still would love to find more of the sound both of those records coalesce to individually.

knowarrimean

Is it mentioned in the bio?

Yes, but it kind of gets a brief mention in his Neil Young bio. The TV show wasn't available (or at least easily found) when I read it years ago, so I forgot about it, and then flipping through the book again, I was reminded of it. He brings it up in the chapter on Freedom while listing other great TV musical performances.

McDonough doesn't actually focus on the broadcast uploaded by Shout Factory. According to his Al Green bio, Green made TWO appearances on Soul! that year. By the time Green did the latter, he had blown up into an enormous star, and he was invited as the only guest. He gets the full hour, and it's apparently treasured by some Al Green aficionados as his greatest live performance on film or record: http://www.trunkworthy.com/witness-al-greens-finest-hour-a-moving-soothing-grooving-dose-of-soul/ (Bits and pieces can be found on YouTube, but unlike the earlier appearance I posted, there's no official upload, much less one that's been restored or sourced from the original broadcast master.)

McDonough doesn't say much about the earlier broadcast, but despite its brevity, that appearance has one big advantage over the later performance: the camera work. Unlike the later appearance, they've cleared out the floor space around Green, allowing them to place their cameras MUCH closer, and it makes a world of a difference - you see every nuance in his face and gestures including some long, unbroken shots of Green in close-up. It's so good, it's actually disappointing we only get three songs.

thanks a lot for posting that. i am very tempted to screen/video capture it so i can keep it after it gets taken down. the performance and filming of "tired of being alone", in particular, is astounding. the set is minimal, but whoever filmed it did a fantastic job. starting with his velvet-tipped shoes, profile shot from the side, catching him tapping his foot, panning up to the face, with the black background. and he is in peak, al green handsome, perfect voice, can do no wrong, no surprise. already some small beads of sweat showing on his forehead. the second verse comes around and the camera slowly shifts from the profile to the front shot, with this lovely era-specific soft-orange glow. i'm not sure words are appropriate for the magnificence of that middle 1/3 of the performance. then the final verse/chorus, a final shift of the camera and zoom out, to show his band behind him as he brings it home.

i think it's all one shot, too? brilliant performance.

i watched the rest of the show, too. holy shit. that was a good fucking show and i would like to track down the rest of the episodes too.

i watched the rest of the show, too. holy shit. that was a good fucking show and i would like to track down the rest of the episodes too.

Shout Factory seems to have put up a bunch from the masters, but I'm hoping they or someone get around to the Stevie Wonder episode. He plays for the entire 60 minute show and is amazing.

yeah, i took a moment to dream on this wikipedia paragraph:

Among the musical performers who appeared on the show were Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind, and Fire, the Dells, Ashford and Simpson,[3] Al Green, Tito Puente, McCoy Tyner, Max Roach, Gladys Knight, The Delfonics, Kool & The Gang, Mandrill, and Black Ivory, as well as African performers Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba.[5] Others who appeared on the program included boxer Muhammad Ali, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, minister (later politician) Jesse Jackson, actor / singer Harry Belafonte, actor Sidney Poitier,[5] and Kathleen Cleaver, wife of Eldridge Cleaver.[6] Legendary poetry collective The Last Poets also performed on the show.[7]

patti labelle on the premiere, too

that’s great footage of a wonderful performance!

a propos of nothing: Al Green has been one of my all-time favourite artists for more or less forever, and yet I never realised what an incredibly hot guy he was in his prime.

i think it's all one shot, too? brilliant performance.

You're right, they did that whole song in ONE shot!

There's another priceless moment in "Let's Stay Together." For the bulk of it, the camera's off to the side, so Green's rarely looking at the camera...but deep into the song, right after he sings "But you'd never do that to me?" he glances to the left, finds the camera, and flashes that awesome, seductive smile and croons "...would you baby?" Even without the video, it would've been awesome because his phrasing is ridiculously perfect. But seeing it? DAMN.

yet I never realised what an incredibly hot guy he was in his prime.

i think there's an unspoken understanding among all people in relationships that if 1971 al green shows up at your door and wants to sweet talk one or both of you and maybe stay up til 3 o clock in the morn, then that's just going to happen

PBS just ran an Independent Lens doc on Soul!! last week. Questlove raves about those Al performances.

_yet I never realised what an incredibly hot guy he was in his prime._

i think there's an unspoken understanding among all people in relationships that if 1971 al green shows up at your door and wants to sweet talk one or both of you and maybe stay up til 3 o clock in the morn, then that's just going to happen

got kind of worried when i saw the revive but instead it's just exactly the kind of ho-hum "best ever is best ever" revive that i love to see all day every day.

Here's another favorite, from a Soul Train appearance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vntdKHhhWw

Quality isn't great - looks like a VHS recording - but Green's amazing, incredibly lively even with his arm in a sling.

"Have You Been Making Out Okay with Al Green?"

more than okay, friend ;)

Make room on that sofa, sailor

Quality isn't great - looks like a VHS recording - but Green's amazing, incredibly lively even with his arm in a sling.

There's some discussion (and dead links) about this upthread. Too bad there aren't better copies of it on YT, as what sparked that discussion was a remastered rerun from when Soul Train had ceased production and was airing classic episodes (the YMO appearance was also exhumed).

In the interview, he explains the sling as the result of "my fans and I haven't a disagreement about whether I should get into a car" (he'd had a limo door slammed on his arm after a gig).

Not sure if they're still up, but Shout Factory had a bunch of Soul!! eps up for free on Prime.

Not sure if they're still up, but Shout Factory had a bunch of Soul!! eps up for free on Prime.

― "what are you DOING to fleetwood mac??" (C. Grisso/McCain)

Not sure if they're still up, but Shout Factory had a bunch of Soul!! eps up for free on Prime.

― "what are you DOING to fleetwood mac??" (C. Grisso/McCain)

Not sure if they're still up, but Shout Factory had a bunch of Soul!! eps up for free on Prime.

― "what are you DOING to fleetwood mac??" (C. Grisso/McCain)

Not sure if they're still up, but Shout Factory had a bunch of Soul!! eps up for free on Prime.

― "what are you DOING to fleetwood mac??" (C. Grisso/McCain)

Not sure if they're still up, but Shout Factory had a bunch of Soul!! eps up for free on Prime.

― "what are you DOING to fleetwood mac??" (C. Grisso/McCain)

YES!!!!!!!!! it is all up there

I watched few today, they rule

episode 3 has max roach
episodes 4-5 are a two part interview between james baldwin and nikki giovanni (who i don't know, but every single person affiliated with this show seems to rule)
episode 6 bill withers singing ain't no sunshine (which didn't even make the damn wikipedia entry?!!)

it goes on and on

jeez, they had to throw in mccoy tyner on the bill withers episode too, just to fill it out a bit

Info on the PBS Doc: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/mr-soul/

nice, thanks! maybe the PBS doc led to the youtube upload which led to this al green revival (which is only appropriate), which led me to all of these nice episodes and now the doc as well! the bill withers episode has been sick. mccoy tyner's band is great of course, and i really enjoyed listening to bill withers talk about coming from nowhere and just being grounded. i always knew he was a great guy from reputation and his music, but it so cool to hear him speak at length, fumble at things like not knowing what "prognosis" was in a question, and just being as relatable as humanly possible.

yes -- when i saw this earlier today i was going to link to the doc but i got sidetracked. it's an independent lens production iirc?

sidebar: if anyone has not yet watched the bill withers still bill documentary from a few years ago, you're not really living your best life just yet. just saying.

y'all should play the second side of Livin' For You.

That's all.

also the first side.

and both the second and first sides of every other album al green released between the years of 1967 and 1977.

then join us on the couch

Is it odd to prefer the non-singles on Let's Stay Together to the non-singles on I'm Still in Love With You? I think Call Me is stronger than both.

Play The Love Sermon from Al Green Is Love, repeat as needed

is that ... ornette coleman in the front row at 43:44 ??

It looks like him, but about 20 years too young.

They released this performance on DVD a while ago. Stevie wonders soul TV performance was also meant to be released but I think it got pulled for some reason which is a big shame (I stupidly sold a promo DVD of it as I thought it would he released officialy).

Was listening to the album al made with questlove just a few weeks ago as it happens. It's pretty good. Maybe low on strong songs but I found it hard to resist, and was just pleased to hear al in the present day, even if I didnt totally buy some of the overtly romantic sentiments.

In the interview, he explains the sling as the result of "my fans and I haven't a disagreement about whether I should get into a car" (he'd had a limo door slammed on his arm after a gig).

McDonough's book talks about this. Linda Wills later claimed Green injured it going through a revolving door. Members of Green's band claim it happened on tour in Ft. Lauderdale - on that tour, they were playing theaters essentially run by gangsters. Green tried to cancel the gig because he wasn't feeling well. There was an argument with the theater owner, and eventually the band watched as this giant thug in a suit walked into Green's dressing room. After a bit of time, that thug came out and left, and ten minutes later, a doctor came in and went into Green's dressing room. The theater owners then told the band they were PLAYING, and when they went to rehearse, Green showed up later with the cast. After that, the band said Green started carrying a gun.

https://www.howardgrimesdrummer.com/about

Drummer Howard Grimes memoir coming July 1

https://staxmuseum.com/event/book-event-timekeeper-my-life-in-rhythm-an-evening-with-howard-grimes-preston-lauterbach/?fbclid=IwAR0xSrgaGSL3U_SjHsraltp8QqLp8DTpLhDGnlaksAsgsrseWauEnwRkiqk

Wed July 21 drummer Grimes talks with Preston Lauterbach at Stax on Zoom

No stems no seeds just Al Green

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/09/23/memphis-music-history-hi-rhythm-rev-charles-hodges-book/5790901001/?fbclid=IwAR0AqmljkfGAEhOIHTxnPX1rP2oYfHDTdC_Lo3cbtIT-jKtcsVUbIIaf5qo

Per writer Robert Gordon— Hi Records organist / keyboardist Charles Hodges has a book coming out . Release event at his church this Sunday!
The Rev. Charles Hodges discusses "My Story," a book about his life, at 3 p.m. Sunday at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, 7786 Poplar Pike, Germantown. The event is free and open to the public

Sadly seeing on Facebook now that Memphis drummer Howard Grimes has passed away. He played on Stax and Hi records and efforts by Al Green and Ann Peebles. He released a book about his life last year.

Howard Grimes and Al Jackson both played on song “Love and Happiness “ I think. Grimes was on congas.

Great obituary from Bob Mehr, giving credit where it's due:

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/02/12/howard-grimes-obit-hi-rhythm-stax-memphis-music/6770160001/

Bob Mehr is the same guy who just won a Grammy for his liner notes to the Replacements' Dead Man's Pop box set, no surprise as he also wrote one of THE great bios on any band (again, the Replacements).

Opened this thread, saw the words "Great obituary" and just about lost my shit for a moment before reading more closely.

RIP Howard Grimes.

Glad Grimes survived that period after Hi Records when he was divorced, homeless, and having addiction issues.
Got a bit of recognition and work in recent years.

RIP to one of the greatest. Pretty sure Howard Grimes was on kit for "Love & Happiness". From Willie Mitchell:

“Usually I’d have Al (Jackson) play those sessions by himself,” Mitchell says. “Sometimes I’d play the conga drum with him, on things like ’Let’s Stay Together.’ But there were times that Al Jackson couldn’t get the feel I wanted, on songs like ’Take Me To The River’ or ’Love & Happiness,’ so I had Howard come in for that. Now, Al could actually play anything … but he couldn’t play it raggedy. And when that’s what I wanted to have, I called Howard.”

https://drummagazine.com/al-jackson-jr-the-sound-of-60s-soul/

Pretty sure he talks about it on his Trap Set interview too:
https://www.thetrapset.net/042-howard-grimes-al-green-ann-peebles-rufus-thomas-the-bo-keys/

Author Preston Lauterbach , who helped Howard Grimes prepare his book, is saying on his Substack that Grimes widow could use financial donations. He says just to contact him. He also notes that the wake of Friday, funeral Saturday, and on Saturday there will be a Beale Street processional beginning at 11:30am on the corner of Second and Beale.

i'm still in love with you is the greatest album of all time

checks out

Second only to Livin' For You.

I get caught up in the descending chord progressions of "What a Wonderful Thing Love Is" and "Look What You Done For Me".

I read that as "condescending" lol

No, they're deeply compassionate!

the best version of "for the good times"

If I had to pick only one, it would be Call Me, but why pick one masterpiece over another? There's at least five in a row, plus Belle later on and a bunch of good ones in between and after.

a lot of his albums are severely underrated. i scored Al Green Is Love for 5 bucks recently at a pretty expensive record store.

beat guitar sound, best drum sound

best

Love Ritual: Rare and Previously Unreleased 1968-1976 is a great one too. He left plenty of choice rarities in the can.

I just wish there was a definitive concert film, but you can at least piece together a great video compilation of his TV performances. (The live Tokyo album ain't bad, but it's not the great live album he has in him.)

Midnight Special YT channel just uploaded some clips from '73 & '74

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVMijYHnbGw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evv1xwK5UYA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc1wS61RgEM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU4UNv13S58

ty these are greaat

oh dear

great revive

"Jesus is Waiting" is almost enough to make me want to accept the Lord.

He was so great in the '70s, it's a shame there hasn't been a definitive live release put together, either an album or a DVD/Blu-ray. (The Tokyo album didn't quite do him justice.) It's all out there is pieces though, like in those clips.

I don't think I have seen the 1984 Robert Mugge directed live "Gospel According to Al Green" film doc

Awesome revive

Can't help but notice the front row of the audience is all women.

it's a shame there hasn't been a definitive live release put together

in my opinion, the videos make the experience; his moves are everything. when it comes to audio, i'm extremely fine listening to the studio recordings, which are some of the best sounding records ever.

Can't help but notice the front row of the audience is all women.

― Maggot Bairn (Tom D.), Friday, March 17, 2023 9:44 PM (eighteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

uh yeah did you see the man singing on stage? god at his peak he was just unbelievably hot.

xp to jimbeaux you made my heart skip a beat thinking that one of these midnight specials was a "jesus is waiting" performance but alas

sorry to be crass but al green setting the tempo by clapping before the band kicks in on "love and happiness" is on some "fuck me right goddamn now" shit

all about the foreplay

new single, cover of "Perfect Day"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5NT_079_X0

Whoa.

He sounds great!

His voice is great but I am not sure about the arrangement . Need to listen again

His voice is still in great shape, but he doesn't really sell these particular lyrics (he doesn't even attempt the note of doomed heartbreak Lou achieves in his vocals on the original, and Al Green can definitely do heartbreak if he wants to), and like 90% of everything Green has recorded away from Willie Mitchell, the production/arrangement seems to have no idea how to compliment his gorgeous voice.

Yeah, he floats above the melody.

Lou put Belle by Al Green in his top 10

https://www.clashmusic.com/news/lou-reed-once-named-his-10-favourite-albums/

He was well known as a big Al Green fan.

there is something problematic with the verses being in a higher register than the chorus. maybe it's something a non-singer can pull off better than a singer.

the "You're going to reap just what you sow" outro has a very different vibe coming from the Rev. Green

Al has always been Christian obviously, but I love this one from his “Christian” albums

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo-rWMAfbNs

Have had “Chariots of Fire” from the Belle album on repeat today. Such a jam

This is my current jam. My god those drums.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7zclKteJs0

As they got further along their production partnership, Green and Willie Mitchell started loosening their grooves. I love this one from the same album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm6330OuGF0

One of those threads that just should not be bumped.

his music's too good to not bump the thread every once in a while ... he's "only" 78 years old

One of those threads that just should not be bumped.

It's this and the Shirley Collins thread!

don't tell me ilx has started to be like those weirdos on twitter who jump to the conclusion that an older celeb has died every time their name trends, it's so obnoxious

Whenever I hear certain artists on the radio multiple times in one day, especially deep cuts, I assume the worst.

It's this and the Shirley Collins thread!

Robert Wyatt.

don't tell me ilx has started to be like those weirdos on twitter who jump to the conclusion that an older celeb has died every time their name trends, it's so obnoxious

yeah in many cases you're hoping the celeb has died + all the cunts that have tweeted about "oh please don't let 1970s paedo be dead" have also died

Whenever I hear certain artists on the radio multiple times in one day, especially deep cuts, I assume the worst.

This happened with David Bowie. Popped into Trader Joe's heard non-stop Bowie songs and thought "remember when supermarkets were known to play the most antiseptic elevator music?" (tbf it was Trader Joe's, not a Safeway) Then I got a text saying "I didn't know Bowie was sick." Ugh....

Al Green and Morgan Freeman ring in the New Year

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19mDfrkqUA/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Saw that . Al in Clarksdale , Ms still sounding good .

fuck, how have I never heard Love Ritual?!? (the album, not the original track)