You have to respect the single-minded artist.
This greatest hits collection from one the megastars of the soul music scene showcases twenty tracks, each and every one of them concerned with the topic of love.
Getting distracted by food, civil rights, cars or even euphemisms is not for Mr. Al Green. He’s focussed on your love, her love, lost love, the next love and being loved. And love invokes squeals, “yeahs”, guttural purrs and many, many high notes.
We have stumbled into rutting season and he is the man with the hugest antlers. But Al is no sleazy Barry White or Isaac Hayes. His is an angelic, wholesome Let’s Stay Together, Let’s Get Married love.
After recording these he went from Mr to The Reverend. I’m not completely au fait with his gospel career, but what I’ve heard stays on the righteous side of saccharine.
But back to the corporeal love side of things. This is a fantastic collection. The backing orchestration – very often built around organ and/or horns – is first rate. The vocal stylings flawless. And as you can see from the cover, and moreso from this video, his hair is irresistable (and inspirational):
You can seriously hear the hair in the songs…
File under: It is easy being Green
