RFI, S&D: Al Green's gospel recordings

Belle Album and Truth 'n' Time were the last of Green's "secular" records (although both contain a lot of gospel or psuedo-gospel) until the late 1990s. I'm realy curious about that "lost' period in between.

One of the joys of Spotify is being able to sample some of the Al Green gospel albums I've always blindly avoided, and finding out that they're actually pretty good, or at least not remotely as bad as I'd been told. There's a lot of gold on the comp Testify: The Best of the A&M Years, and I can't believe I hadn't heard the Willie Mitchell-produced '95 album until now.

I need to check those albums out. Plus I hear that seeing Al in his Memphis church is something else. Need to do that too.

I was gonna ask about the logistics of seeing Green preach, because it's long been something I've wanted to do but felt was too good to be true, but according to some Yelp reviews (seriously), it's for real. From one:

Your best bet is to go on Easter Sunday, because that's the only time you're guaranteed to see Al preach. Sometimes he doesn't show up and a deacon will carry the sermon. That's all fine and well if you're a member of this church, but if you're coming all the way to Whitehaven to see the Reverend Al, that's a serious disappointment.

Like I said before, this is a Pentecostal church. You WILL see people speaking in tongues. You WILL see women "get the spirit", fall to the floor and roll around in the aisles. You WILL hear plenty of vitriol spewed about how homosexuals are ruining the world.

And you WILL sit there for a long-ass time before Al shows up, so prepare yourself for that. But once he does, oh my goodness. No matter how much of a godless heathen you are, seeing Al Green preach is an experience that every human being should experience. On the Sunday that I went, he changed the lyrics to "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)" to be an ode to Jesus. And damn, that man still has it. His voice still sounds as good as it ever did. It brought tears to my eyes.

The collection is taken in an unorthodox manner; instead of sending ushers to pass the plate, the entire congregation is called down to the front so you can hand your money personally to Al. I'm not sure why this is done, but I have a hunch it's got its roots in financial motives: so Al can look you in the eye and privately, personally shame you if you drop anything less than a twenty into his basket.

Which he does.

I'd heard this ahead of time so I was prepared, but other people in attendance were not so fortunate. Nobody wants to be shamed by Reverend Al Green. Seriously, how do you live that one down?

Another, more recent review paints a brighter picture:

We were a little reticent. I didn't want to hear gay bashing or see snake handling. On the contrary, the Right Reverend Green and his large congregation were welcoming to all comers (many tourists attend for the music - in fact, the Sunday we went tourists from Italy, Britain, and Poland were in attendance, as well as a busload of kids from Kansas). Rev. Green does not preach from a pre-written sermon. Instead, he feels the word of God in his heart and shares the message in words that sound almost like song lyrics and simplifies and clarifies Bible passages in terms of his own experience ... When the choir gets going alongside the band, spiritual magic happens. No one leaves without heartfelt joy.