AL GREEN: CLASSIC OR DUD?

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.