Wow…can it be? Is it really you Al? This new effort sounds like part two of the Greatest Hits cd that I’ve worn out at all of my “back- in-the-day” parties. This past year has been the year of the “reunion” of tours, but here’s a reunion that sounds all new and vintage at the same time. With a little help from a new generation of musicians and soundmen, Al Green has put out a cd that…well, that Al Green fans have been waiting for years. From the opening notes of the first track “Lay It Down”, we’ve been brought back to the Reverend’s world.
The second track, “Just For Me” has that signature Al intro. The main problem that I had with this cut is that they should’ve gone right ahead and put it the 6 minute club-mix. This groove ends entirely too soon.
The gritty smoothness (is that a contradiction? – you bet!) of “You’ve Got The Love I Need” which brings Anthony Hamilton’s vocals out front after adding just his smooth Southern background to the cd’s opening track, is another instant classic.
Track 5, “What More Do You Want From Me”, is the only song that starts off with a hint of what the sounds of the new generation production team headed by Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson of The Roots adds as their own. But this quickly changes back to an Al Green standard after the opening bars. This is not to say anything negative about the compromise of the styles of music here…quite the contrary! It appears that Thompson, along with keyboardist James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Common) have put together a “classic” sounding Al Green disk that’s as fresh and clean as anything else out there now.
“Take Your Time" is a straight up old school bump and grind specialty that attempts to introduce us, once again, to British vocalist Corrine Bailey Rae. Enjoy this harmonic collaboration.
Let me take a minute here to talk about something special. Of the many things Al Green’s music has been noted for, the soul, the voice, the production, etc, one of the most outstanding features of his earlier work was the guitar playing of one Mabon “Teenie” Hodges. His guitar styling and coloring added as much a distinct flavor to many of Al’s earlier hits (he was also a co-writer of many of the tunes) as Al’s voice. Hodges’ introduction to “Love and Happiness” ranks in the guitar players standards catalog right up there with the Rolling Stones “Satisfaction” or Muddy Waters “I’m A Man”.
So I was pleasantly surprised to hear again some tasteful guitar licks mixed in with that soulful Hammond organ, right beside those Memphis horns. Leafing through the credits, I noticed that Chalmers “Spanky” Alford is listed as the guitar player as well as the co-writer on almost all of the tunes, and as co-producer! Who is “Spanky” Alford you ask? Why only a three time Grammy winning “jazz” guitarist who has played with Joss Stone, John Mayer, Mary J Blige, Raphael Saadiq, D'Angelo and Roy Hargrove. I bring this to note as this cd has a memorial dedication on it to “Spanky” Alford who lost his battle with diabeties this past March 2008. I’m not sure at what point in the production this occurred, as another fine guitarist from Philadelphia, Randy Bowland accounts for the chops of several tracks as well. But listen closely to the funky soulful guitar breaks in “You’ve Got The Love I Need” and appreciate what real talent went into making this record.
You know, my somewhat gilded memories of listening to Al Green in his heyday always seems to include either a glass held gently in my hand while easy stepping to his soul, or at least a beer sat up on a counter waiting for me to return. Even though Al sounds as good as he did in the 70’s, the presentation of quality music these days certainly has changed. Will any of the Hot 97’s, Cool 100’s, Smooth Jazz, “Classic Sounds” radio stations play any of these tunes? Word of mouth will certainly carry this release a long way, but a little bit of the Reverend’s love needs to travel through the airwaves to a new generation of listeners.