Al Green & Willie together again... should i get my hopes up?

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hey, asshole who can't tell the difference between the Observer and the Press, have you read Green's autobiography? it's not the best one I've read (that's still the Chuck Berry one) but it's definitely one of the most arresting--the differenec between the parts that Al dictated and the parts that the co-writer put in couldn't be more obvious if they'd color-coded the paragraphs, I mean even more so than most co-writes. his voice is all over the pages, just his whole quirked-out way of thinking/talking, it's really amazing. and you're right about his acoustic guitar--a totally underrated player, though I gotta wonder whether a "historic reunion"-type deal like this will allow for it. (that's what I was referring to more specifically when I brought up the Burke record--that sense of historical occasion as opposed to just great music making.)

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 22 September 2003 15:34 (twenty years ago) link

I thought the autobio was duller than dogshit, and from what I've been told Green contributed little. Although the story of his final 'conversion' is pretty riveting. The teeny-tiny snippets of interviews on the Soundstage special blow the book away.

Interesting gossip I've heard about Al
-that he and Willie had an affair
-that he had a long addiction to crack
-that his manhood was boiled off in the grits attack

And watch the profanity, M&M. It's childish.

― rumple, Monday, 22 September 2003 15:41 (twenty years ago) link

you oughta talk, bub.

no, the bio isn't a great piece of writing--it's when Green's voice comes in that it gets interesting. those rumors all sound totally spurious.

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 22 September 2003 15:45 (twenty years ago) link

"over and over" the fleetwood mac song? that's good.

i don't think green/mitchell made any *bad* records in their heyday. a few tracks sound indifferent, but only compared to the better ones. i can't think of any other artist from the postwar era who was so consistent, so profilic, and so great for such a period of time.

green has an extremely peculiar and arresting way of speaking. have you seen the documentary about his church? even as a preacher his cadences are very unusual. i'd like to read the autobio if some of it does capture his unique way of speaking/thinking.

― amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 22 September 2003 17:02 (twenty years ago) link

one month passes...

So, the album comes out in a week. Has anyone heard it? Any comments on it? I'm interested, but haven't found any reviews of the album yet.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 17:35 (twenty years ago) link

listening now. sounds - hahaha - like an al green/willie mitchell album. anyone else heard it?

― gaz (gaz), Thursday, 20 November 2003 02:48 (twenty years ago) link

That's it--an Al Green/Willie Mitchell album. Not a great one, but a real good one, heats up as it goes along, then gets silly and fun at the end.

― Keith Harris (kharris1128), Thursday, 20 November 2003 02:57 (twenty years ago) link

The song I heard on the radio this morning sounded like a 70s Al Green cut and suprised me that it was new. The horn/string arrangement and production is very well done. I think it was the title cut of the album, going from the song lyrics.

― earlnash, Thursday, 20 November 2003 03:12 (twenty years ago) link

Oh shit--he covers "Over and Over?" Is this really true? Plus Gaz saying, "sounds like an Al Green/Willie Mitchell album" Is that really true as well?

I want details on this. It sounds, well, better than one would dare hope...

― M Specktor (M Specktor), Thursday, 20 November 2003 03:14 (twenty years ago) link

on one listen: yes,
it hits where it aims: the past,
the sweet sticky spot.

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Thursday, 20 November 2003 03:32 (twenty years ago) link

over & over isn't on my copy. its all green/mitchell originals. yeah matthew, its sweet.

― gaz (gaz), Thursday, 20 November 2003 03:41 (twenty years ago) link

Bought this today. I am a big fan, Haven't heard it yet, but the anticipation is incredible!

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Sunday, 23 November 2003 05:54 (twenty years ago) link

I liked Don't Give Up On Me! And the last Curtis Mayfield album!

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Sunday, 23 November 2003 06:00 (twenty years ago) link

was new world order the last curtis mayfield album? cuz it was great

― cinniblount (James Blount), Sunday, 23 November 2003 07:50 (twenty years ago) link

Yes it was. And yes it was.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Sunday, 23 November 2003 16:27 (twenty years ago) link

one month passes...

Why doesn't anyone mention Rev. Green's children or his first wife, who can really sing and was a compliment to her former husband while they sang and recorded together

― Alva Green, Saturday, 17 January 2004 05:17 (twenty years ago) link

...sorry...

― East Bay Crackhaus (nordicskilla), Saturday, 17 January 2004 05:27 (twenty years ago) link

one month passes...

Picked this up today and damn if it is not like a time trip back to the 70's and I mean this in a good way! Great stuff.

― Jim Reckling (Jim Reckling), Friday, 5 March 2004 02:02 (twenty years ago) link

...and that's a good thing

― JaXoN (JasonD), Friday, 5 March 2004 02:55 (twenty years ago) link

played it once. total and complete disappointment. Not one memorable song nothing slow enough where's teenie?

― rumple, Friday, 5 March 2004 04:52 (twenty years ago) link

are there any Hodges on this at all?

― Broheems (diamond), Friday, 5 March 2004 05:10 (twenty years ago) link

one year passes...

I loved "My Problem is You." Just say I could relate . . .

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 6 June 2005 05:59 (eighteen years ago) link

five years pass...

what's the deal w/the arthur baker/fine young cannibals 93 record "don't look back"? trad soul? electronic? house? good?

― jaxon, Monday, 7 February 2011 01:00 (thirteen years ago) link

Don't Look Back is terrific. On the whole it is very trad, but with just enough 90s touches to avoid sounding like a pure nostalgia trip. One song in particular, "Waiting on You," fascinates me because it's got a harsh, spiky sound and an almost angry Green vocal that's pretty fabulous and nearly unique in the Green canon. The album drags a bit in the second half, but it rebounds nicely at the end with the title track and the jaunty "Love in Motion." I think it was by far his best studio album since Truth N Time, and better than his trio of secular 'comeback' albums from the last decade.

― MumblestheRevelator, Monday, 7 February 2011 02:24 (thirteen years ago) link

k. discogs calls it 'house, soul, disco', so was a lil interested in a weird way

― jaxon, Monday, 7 February 2011 02:29 (thirteen years ago) link

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