612 Al Green - Call Me (1973)

 612 Al Green - Call Me (1973)

Studio Album - Soul



About the Act:

Al Green is an American Soul singer, who started his career in 1955 and is still going. That's an impressive career length. 

His personal life looks a bit like a roller-coaster at times. In the late 70s, after some bad incidents, he turned to Gospel and became a Pastor. Later, he came back to secular music. He has sold a large number of soul records, with a style that is reminiscent of early Motown soul.

About the Album:

This was his sixth album, and some think his best. It is hailed as a classic of soul.

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

The drums are tinny! It seems like a little thing, but for some reason I couldn't get past the fact that the whole album has the same production on the drums and it sounds like they were a cheap plastic child's set, or in fact some plastic buckets. Maybe I'm in a petty mood.

The rest of it? Well it's soul. It reminded me wholeheartedly of "let's stay together", a song by Tina Turner in the 80s, which is in fact an Al Green song. He has this lightness of voice that is very archetypal soul. With overdubs of his own voice. Musically it's soul, gentle soul, with string sections and brass sections and keys and those tinny, tinny drums. It may be the drums talking, but it felt soul-less to me, formulaic and lacking in anything but a good voice. I didn't believe a word he sang, and it didn't excite me musically.

Out of interest, I have just found and listened to Al's version of Let's Stay Together. Yes, it's similar, but it has a certain something, a feeling of soul. It is Soul music after all. It's better than anything on this album.

Sorry Al, I was not impressed this time.

6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1hryVGXoRLV9WAhO97xEDJ

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJHhuu0vGMO0-Js9oYfn6uscpQFm9Fhn4

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_Me_(Al_Green_album)



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