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Music : Lay It Down
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Rating: 
- Al Green Is Love Again (Lay It Down)
"Al Green Is Love" was one of his classic excellent albums released around 1975. However I think he has done it again, this time with "Lay It Down". Isn't it funny how the great artist never loose their touch. In the case of Al its that lovely falsetto voice which seems to work so well with many soulful love songs. Just listen to "Lets Stay Together", "I'm Still In Love With You" and so on.
On Lay It Down the music is fresh yet there are signs of the 70's sound which made him popular. What has been cleverly done is to maintane his own style as we have come to know it but mixed in with an excellent bass line Memphis style horns and modern artist like Corinne Bailey Rae etal. All tracks are enjoyable and there is no excuse to skip any. What this album has done in our houseold, is resurect all his oldies, but this is after we have played Lay It Down a few times.
If you are a Al Green fan like me, then this is a must for your collection. If you are new to Al Green then this will be an enjoyable start especially if you have heard of the modern artist such as Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and Athony Hamilton who all feature in the album. So what are you waiting for, just enjoy.
Rating:
- Very similar to the singer's classic 70's releases
As has been mentioned by others, "Lay it Down" is Al Green's latest effort to replicate the sound that kept him a mainstay on radio during the early 70's. Each of the eleven tracks, including his collaborations with the likes of Anthony Hamilton (on two tracks), Corinne Bailey Rae, and John Legend, features Green at his most soulful, backed by musicians/arrangers that truly know how to support such a legendary talent.
The album's highlight is actually one of the duets: the one with Rae, entitled "Take Your Time." The young singer's unique vocals match Green's heartfelt crooning perfectly, making one long to hear the two on some future effort.
The only complaint of the CD, resulting in the loss of a star, is that a couple of the tracks sound TOO much like each other, making them somewhat interchangeable, adding a little confusion to the listening ear.
One might ask, "Didn't I just hear that song?" as the album makes it spins on the CD player.
With that said, however, "Lay it Down" is still a welcome pleasure for fans of Green and real rhythm and blues, not the Usher/Chris Brown/Justin Timberlake type that passes for the genre today.
Rating: - a real Soul album by the No 1 Soul Man
Since the first time I heard Al Green (on "Tired of Being Alone", around 1970) I have regarded him as the paramount Soul man, His partnership with Willie Mitchell in the 70's produced some of the most consistent and superb music of that or any other era, and which came to define Soul for many. Soul went out of fashion around the time Al "retired" to his Memphis church, and he has struggled to reach anything approaching those dizzy heights since his return to secular music.
He is not alone in that. Nor is it unique to hitch up with current star names. There have been many attempts by 60's and 70's artists to recreate their success, and the fact that only a few have pulled it off tells you that it takes more than an up to date who's who. What it does take is that those involved have respect - for both the artist and for the work he did, and the ability to draw on that, bring it up to date and avoid cliche. They have managed it on "Lay It Down".
Here they provide what Al Green had in the 70's - a framework where his vocal can run in and out as he pleases, where he can swoop and soar and ad lib as the mood takes him and where his voice is, at times, just another instrument. As for individual tracks, the title track has a beautiful chorus across which Al whoops and wails and "Just For Me" could have lifted the rhythm track from "Let's Stay Together" (but it didn't).
Anyway, you get the picture - this is a real Soul album, from the master of the genre, which stands comparison with Al Green's classic 70's albums - yes it is that good. All of those involved on "Lay It Down" deserve enormous credit for creating a truly superb album - if you love Soul, what are you waiting for, just buy it
Rating: - Al + young guns = marriage made in soul heaven!
This is superb . It starts brilliantly and ,incredibly, the quality never dips afterwards . If you like old-school soul , you're gonna love this . I just hope he tours this extensively in the UK - it's so strong , it deserves a live outing . Proper horns , proper strings , proper soul .
Rating: - Fantastic
Not often do I write reviews either.. Always seems a bit pointless really.. I mean when do people usually feel compelled to write a review when they feel indifferent about a record? So invariably and I'm no different to most, I'm writing because I L-O-V-E this disc from Al Green! It's pure classic Soul with the songs sounding both fresh but at the same time like standards you've grown up with..
The reason I've given it four stars is because on first listening the energy drops for a track or two in the middle but as I say, I've only heard it once and will probably regret this judgment after another couple of hearings..
The thing I really want to say is, trust me, this is a great record.. you just won't hear about it too much in the uk media etc.. not that that's a bad thing.. the thing is though.. if stevie wonder came back with this.. or michael jackson for that matter.. the press would fall over themseleves to praise and push it to high heaven as if it were the greatest album ever!
It isn't, but if you like your soul or al green then it's not far short.. highlights for me are Just for Me, I'm wild about u and Stand N the rain..
- Al Green Is Love Again (Lay It Down)"Al Green Is Love" was one of his classic excellent albums released around 1975. However I think he has done it again, this time with "Lay It Down". Isn't it funny how the great artist never loose their touch. In the case of Al its that lovely falsetto voice which seems to work so well with many soulful love songs. Just listen to "Lets Stay Together", "I'm Still In Love With You" and so on.
On Lay It Down the music is fresh yet there are signs of the 70's sound which made him popular. What has been cleverly done is to maintane his own style as we have come to know it but mixed in with an excellent bass line Memphis style horns and modern artist like Corinne Bailey Rae etal. All tracks are enjoyable and there is no excuse to skip any. What this album has done in our houseold, is resurect all his oldies, but this is after we have played Lay It Down a few times.
If you are a Al Green fan like me, then this is a must for your collection. If you are new to Al Green then this will be an enjoyable start especially if you have heard of the modern artist such as Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and Athony Hamilton who all feature in the album. So what are you waiting for, just enjoy.
Rating:
- Very similar to the singer's classic 70's releasesAs has been mentioned by others, "Lay it Down" is Al Green's latest effort to replicate the sound that kept him a mainstay on radio during the early 70's. Each of the eleven tracks, including his collaborations with the likes of Anthony Hamilton (on two tracks), Corinne Bailey Rae, and John Legend, features Green at his most soulful, backed by musicians/arrangers that truly know how to support such a legendary talent.
The album's highlight is actually one of the duets: the one with Rae, entitled "Take Your Time." The young singer's unique vocals match Green's heartfelt crooning perfectly, making one long to hear the two on some future effort.
The only complaint of the CD, resulting in the loss of a star, is that a couple of the tracks sound TOO much like each other, making them somewhat interchangeable, adding a little confusion to the listening ear.
One might ask, "Didn't I just hear that song?" as the album makes it spins on the CD player.
With that said, however, "Lay it Down" is still a welcome pleasure for fans of Green and real rhythm and blues, not the Usher/Chris Brown/Justin Timberlake type that passes for the genre today.
Rating:
- a real Soul album by the No 1 Soul ManSince the first time I heard Al Green (on "Tired of Being Alone", around 1970) I have regarded him as the paramount Soul man, His partnership with Willie Mitchell in the 70's produced some of the most consistent and superb music of that or any other era, and which came to define Soul for many. Soul went out of fashion around the time Al "retired" to his Memphis church, and he has struggled to reach anything approaching those dizzy heights since his return to secular music.
He is not alone in that. Nor is it unique to hitch up with current star names. There have been many attempts by 60's and 70's artists to recreate their success, and the fact that only a few have pulled it off tells you that it takes more than an up to date who's who. What it does take is that those involved have respect - for both the artist and for the work he did, and the ability to draw on that, bring it up to date and avoid cliche. They have managed it on "Lay It Down".
Here they provide what Al Green had in the 70's - a framework where his vocal can run in and out as he pleases, where he can swoop and soar and ad lib as the mood takes him and where his voice is, at times, just another instrument. As for individual tracks, the title track has a beautiful chorus across which Al whoops and wails and "Just For Me" could have lifted the rhythm track from "Let's Stay Together" (but it didn't).
Anyway, you get the picture - this is a real Soul album, from the master of the genre, which stands comparison with Al Green's classic 70's albums - yes it is that good. All of those involved on "Lay It Down" deserve enormous credit for creating a truly superb album - if you love Soul, what are you waiting for, just buy it
Rating:
- Al + young guns = marriage made in soul heaven!This is superb . It starts brilliantly and ,incredibly, the quality never dips afterwards . If you like old-school soul , you're gonna love this . I just hope he tours this extensively in the UK - it's so strong , it deserves a live outing . Proper horns , proper strings , proper soul .
Rating:
- FantasticNot often do I write reviews either.. Always seems a bit pointless really.. I mean when do people usually feel compelled to write a review when they feel indifferent about a record? So invariably and I'm no different to most, I'm writing because I L-O-V-E this disc from Al Green! It's pure classic Soul with the songs sounding both fresh but at the same time like standards you've grown up with..
The reason I've given it four stars is because on first listening the energy drops for a track or two in the middle but as I say, I've only heard it once and will probably regret this judgment after another couple of hearings..
The thing I really want to say is, trust me, this is a great record.. you just won't hear about it too much in the uk media etc.. not that that's a bad thing.. the thing is though.. if stevie wonder came back with this.. or michael jackson for that matter.. the press would fall over themseleves to praise and push it to high heaven as if it were the greatest album ever!
It isn't, but if you like your soul or al green then it's not far short.. highlights for me are Just for Me, I'm wild about u and Stand N the rain..