Al Green

There's nothing new about the new Al Green record. His new label, A&M, is the distributor
of his old label, Word. His new producer, Willie Mitchell, was the producer of his classic
hits. His subject matter, unambiguous praise of the Lord, hasn't changed since the late
Seventies. What's uncanny about the new Al Green record, and maybe without precedent,
is how Green and Mitchell, working in the same studio with many of the same mu... More >

It's not that Al's reunion with Willie Mitchell makes no difference--the difference is fairly striking when you listen for it. What's striking when you think about it, though, is that you have to listen for it. Leroy Hodges's famous bottom keeps the record flowing like none of Green's other Jesus LPs, but it's still songs that make or break--and in this case do neither. (Grade: B+)