The more I listen to Al Green the most I appreciate the records that deviate from the formula a little bit, or the ones that have stronger songs. That’s because Al Green put out a hell of a lot of albums in the 1970s and they do sort of blend together after a while; he has his signature sound and he deviates from it seemingly only at the tail ends of the decade.
As always, his performance is exceptional; he was perhaps the greatest soul singer of the 1970s and he is essentially unequaled his ability to sing in his rather inimitable way, blending passion and his alluring voice.
And the band is solid, as always. And the arrangements are not full on Philly Soul nonsense (but of course) which is one of the many things I like about Al Green’s music – his commitment to his own sound instead of hopping on the trendy over-arranging bandwagon that makes so much ’70s soul seem like schmaltz.
But the songs just aren’t here for me this time; a couple of them remind me of other Al Green songs and there’s nothing here that really strikes me as a classic. (No, the title track doesn’t move me like it moves other people.) It just seems like a relatively weak set of songs for his standard and so I must say I prefer the previous record even though this record is still much better than basically all the Philly Soul being made at the time.
7/10
All songs by Al Green; except where noted.
- “Call Me (Come Back Home)” (Al Green, Al Jackson Jr., Willie Mitchell) 3:03
- “Have You Been Making Out O.K.” 3:42
- “Stand Up” 3:25
- “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (Hank Williams) 3:10
- “Your Love Is Like the Morning Sun” 3:09
- “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)” (Green, Teenie Hodges) 4:14
- “Funny How Time Slips Away” (Willie Nelson) 5:33
- “You Ought to Be with Me” (Green, Jackson Jr., Mitchell) 3:15
- “Jesus Is Waiting” 5:36
- Al Green – Vocals, Producer
- Willie Mitchell – Producer, Engineer
- Charles Chalmers – Background Vocals, Horn Arrangements
- Howard Grimes – Drums
- Jack Hale, Sr. – Trombone
- Charles Hodges – Organ, Piano
- Leroy Hodges – Bass
- Mabon “Teenie” Hodges – Guitar
- Wayne Jackson – Trumpet
- Ed Logan – Tenor Saxophone
- Andrew Love – Tenor Saxophone
- The Memphis Strings – Strings
- James Mitchell – Baritone Saxophone, Horn Arrangements
- Donna Rhodes – Background Vocals
- Sandra Rhodes – Background Vocals
- Archie Turner – Piano
- Al Jackson Jr. – Drums