Al Green

You know how you wished they'd make 'em like they used to? Well, Al Green's back to answering secular prayers. He's reunited with his former producer, grabbed his old microphone and cut an instant classic that wouldn't work if he didn't still have the stuff. Forget neo-soul...this is real soul.

In 1974, Al Green, arguably the most seductive soul man of all time, was involved in a nasty
episode concerning a married woman and a plate of hot grits. Soon after, he decided it was
better to sing to the Lord than to the ladies, and he parted ways with producer Willie
Mitchell, with whom he'd recorded a cluster of transcendent R&B hits. Green reunited with
Mitchell in 1985 for a gospel record (He Is the Light), but I Can't Stop is a true land... More >

His midrange less creamy, he shouts a lot and relies on falsetto to make a point. Although Smokey Robinson and Seth Swirsky songs perked up his last pop move, he takes composer's credit for every shining star and pledge of love, generally leaving a share for his new old pal Willie Mitchell, who for his part proves all too willing to put subtlety behind him and get bumptious with the horns. So don't believe kneejerks crying comeback. But don't believe regular jerks whining hype either. Material has never been a big deal for a singer whose arrangements always play second fiddle to his inventions, and that singer has retained plenty of voice and the guile to know what to do with it. Give these performances time and they cohere, not as classy modernizations or returns to a form he never lost, but as artistic statements from someone with no history of taking his talent for granted. New classic: "My Problem Is You," all 6:28 of it. (Grade - A-)