Don't Feel Right: The Roots Picnic, Festival Pier, Philadelphia, 6.6.09

So, remember when Isabelle interviewed ?uestlove for the Weekly Dig in January and asked him about the status of a then-unannounced 2nd annual Roots Picnic in Philly? We posted the interview here on the site, too. ?uesto told Isabelle that this year was going to be a two-day affair, among other tentative plans:

ID: Are you guys going to do another Roots Picnic this summer? I went to the first one.
?: Yes, we are. And this time I promise it's gonna be an actual picnic. We're new at this festival-throwing thing, so we forgot to figure in fatigue of the audience and how to protect them from the sun.

Well, a few months later the official announcement came: the second Picnic was going to be a one day festival again (fine by me, as I day tripped from NYC) featuring a lineup that was as amazing as ?uest alluded to. Antibalas, TV on the Radio, Black Keys, Santigold and the centerpiece of the lineup, Public Enemy playing the entirety of It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, backed by not only the Roots but Antibalas as well.

Before I tell you how the performances were, I have a bone to pick. Festival Pier is a terrible, terrible venue. It's more of a concrete parking lot than a pier. The drinks are overpriced and the food is terrible. I will admit that all of this so far is par for the course when it comes to outdoor shows. Sad but true. That, I can get over. But you're gonna put thousands of people in the hot sun all day with no water fountain or cooler or anything? Last year, the weather was way worse--95 degrees and no cloud cover, as I recall. Maybe that's why they set up water coolers for everyone to stay hydrated. This year was much cooler and partly cloudy, so maybe we just didn't deserve complimentary water? Maybe I'm old fashioned or naive, but I believe that if you have a ten hour music festival you need to look after the crowd, especially when most of them paid upwards of $60 to attend. Adding insult to injury, security made me dump out my water on the way in ("For all we know, you have vodka in that bottle") and told me I could fill it up at the water fountain inside. The nonexistent water fountain. It must be the one that appears once you start hallucinating from lack of fluids. This was beyond an inconvenience; it was a risk to everyone's health, and basically felt like a huge 'fuck you' from the venue and the promoters. Of course, water was for sale at $3.50 a bottle, if you could afford it. Judging from the number of people I saw pass out (I counted five in my immediate vicinity) not everybody could swing that. People were dropping like flies all due to the negligence of those in charge. I'm not sure whose fault this was--Live Nation, Penn's Landing, the Roots, Okayplayer, or some other party all of whom I'm sure would just blame the other for the problems and call it a day--but it was severely disappointing. In my decade long career of concert going, I have never felt so abused and mistreated, which is saying quite a lot, since this is an industry that generally tries to do just that to its customers whenever possible. Perhaps worst of all, it made ?uestlove's words on this very blog feel fake.

So how was the music? It was phenomenal. The Roots always bring their A-game, and Antibalas' set was one of the most dynamic, sonically satisfying sets of my concert going career. Black Keys were a welcome break, bringing their stripped down blues licks to a crowd that seemed mostly disinterested. Their loss. Santigold, who bailed on the first Roots Picnic at the last minute, played a passable set marred by terrible sound (bass and voice turned to 11, drums buried in the mix) but hey, her backup dancers were pretty cool. Too bad she didn't show up last year, when I still cared. Busdriver played a great set, but as one of the only traditional emcee-and-a-DJ hip hop sets of the day didn't really stand up to a lot of the live instrumentation that was going on. Fun to watch for sure, though. TV on the Radio's set was hot like fire, with the Antibalas horns backing them up. It seemed like TVOTR were sort of the symbol of the day--a band encompassing rock, hip hop, soul, blues, and world music all in one place. You know, like Santigold thinks she does, only successful. The last act of the night was the Roots, who of course rocked the house (25 minute version of "You Got Me," anyone?), although I would have liked to see them play a longer, more wide-ranging set like they did at the 2008 Picnic. To be fair, the show was supposed to be over by the time they took the stage, so maybe they were pressed for time.

As expected, the highlight of the day was the Public Enemy/Roots/Antibalas set. It Takes a Nation... is one of the most dark, dense, difficult albums in the history of hip hop and watching these musicians breathe all of this life into the work was nothing short of a revelation. This performance actually exceeded my greatest expectation for it. The Second Annual Roots Picnic was a fantastic day of music, marred by conditions that had me fantasizing on a Woodstock '99 style uprising.

Please guys, next year, can we do this somewhere else?

Bass For Your Face, Highs For Your Eyes: The Roots Jam, Highline Ballroom, NYC, 3.19.09

There are many angles to take when it comes to the Roots' new job as house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I choose ambivalence, personally. I think Fallon lacks charisma or a compelling sense of humor, to say nothing of his interview skills. I think the band's talents as a house band are unmatched among bands working today--they're the tightest and most versatile around--but they'd be put to better use elsewhere. That being said, this is a band that's been on tour almost nonstop for over a decade, during which they find time to record studio albums that push the genre forward even though they get pretty much zero credit from said genre, not to mention radio. On top of that are staggering side projects, and when they do make it to your town, they always bring their A game, whether it's in Illadel or Amherst, MA. So yeah, they deserve this "break," which requires scare quotes because it's actually a full time job. I'm sure it gives them more time to write, record, produce, whatever it is the guys want to do, and that's great.

From a provincial standpoint, I had a hunch it meant a lot more chances to see the band play live in their new hometown (I guess they take the bus in from the 215 to 30 Rock each day, but still). That hunch was more than confirmed by the 14 (FOURTEEN!) shows the band scheduled at the Highline Ballroom (where for art thou, Wetlands) between March and June. Last night was the second of these shows, and it was truly a jam.

These shows are not your typical Roots show. For one thing, tickets are an incredibly cheap $10. $12.50 after fees. That's on par with going to the movies in New York, so take your pick. On top of that, the venue's relatively tiny. And while the Roots have been shoved in the Jam Band pigeonhole with increasing regularity, their shows are always set listed and tightly composed, even as the band melts face with their solos. Not so at these meandering sets that seem to be headed anywhere and everywhere.

The Jams are exactly what they sound like: the Roots are not playing their hits, or even lesser known album tracks. They're jamming. Maybe they're working on new material, trying it out for a crowd, or maybe they're just having fun. They're bringing out their friends, and they're creating organic experiences that go wherever the musicians want. Two weeks ago, at the first of these Jams, we were treated to guest emcees Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Dice Raw (I think he's an honorary member at this point), and John Forte, as well as neo-soul cats Chrisette Michelle and Raheem DeVaughn.

This week's show, however, had much less freestyling and a lot more straight up jams, with a ton of vocal performances to make us stand up and take notice. Fellow Soulquarian Bilal came out, and sounded even better live than he does on record. For a blast from the past, we had Corey Glover of Living Colour fame. The band's lineup has been stripped down, with no appearances from percussionist Knuckles or keyboardist Kamal, which is easier to take as studio wizard James Poyser has been sitting in on keys. Last night the group was also joined for a number of songs by members of Afrobeat powerhouse Antibalas. But all of these guests were overshadowed by old timer Dee Dee Bridgewater, who showed the young'ns how a real soul singer performs: she held the audience's rapt attention the whole time she was on stage, departing with the kiss off line "see, grandma can get down too." We also saw all too brief freestyles from Dice Raw, back for more, and DC emcee/Mark Ronson collaborator Wale. The band ended things with an exceedingly long but never boring version of their classic "You Got Me," which drifted into a particularly fun downbeat ska sound and then back to the classic until it deteriorated at the set's end. All I have to say is, there's twelve more of these shows coming up, who knows how many special guests, and tickets are still on sale. Get to it.

Grammy Nominations announced, I continue watching Top Chef reruns

The 2009 Grammy Awards Nominations list was announced today. Not that it really matters or anything, because getting a Grammy is now the equivalent of getting the "Most Unique" award in junior high: pointless, slightly embarrassing and about as special as a gold star on your social studies essay on hunter gatherers. Say what you will about the film industry and their award shows, at least they have certain accolades that still mean something. I mean, I know there is no point in getting my panties in a twist about Lil' Wayne's eight (yes, you read that correctly) nods, but I think it's epically fucked up that the Jonas Brothers and fucking Duffy are in the Best New Artist category and Estelle (who is nominated for "American Boy") is not. And Best Album of the Year is like a slap in the face to good taste: Coldplay, Weezy and Ne-Yo all earned a spot while the Rev. Al Green, who had quite possibly one of the greatest albums ever, gets a conciliatory Best R&B Album bone thrown in his legendary and magnificent direction. And forget about ?uestlove's Producer of the Year wish. That honor will probably go to will.i.am or Nigel Godrich (interestingly enough, Godrich has one produced album he is considered for, In Rainbows, while all the other nominees in that category have at least three) and maybe the engineers who worked on Lay It Down can get the Best Engineered Album award, which is an honor; but only a handful of music nerds (Hi, nice to meet you, my name is Isabelle and my favorite guitar arpeggio this year came from the late Spanky Alford) and audio engineers actually pay attention to that category. And if I'm not mistaken, it probably gets the rolling credit style mention that the Best Tejano Album gets. Oh, and by the way, Katy Perry was nominated, because it's really funny to pretend you're a little bit gay.

Well, the good news is that my new favorite Philly jawn Jazmine Sullivan got a few kudos and veteran producer and singer Raphael Saadiq got some respect for his very good album, The Way I See It. Also, Janelle Monae's dope tune, "Many Moons" was shown some love.

But I think the real underdog story of the 51st Annual Grammy Awards is Wayne Brady. I mean, his cover of "A Change is Gonna Come" is just SO soulful. And thanks for nominating Nas' song "Nigger (The Slave and the Master)." It's always good to reward once decent artists for being boringly provocative for the sake of attention/the opportunity to argue with Bill O'Reilly.

Simply Beautiful.

So this was originally published in Boston's Weekly Dig, my former stomping grounds, yesterday. But I wanted to wait until the extended interview was up and running online to post it on Two Day Old Shit. So here it is. Ladies and gentlemen, the most important professional moment of my life, the greatest opportunity I have ever been handed by any editor (thanks again, David Day) and the most personally satisfying and meaningful interview I have ever conducted. The legendary Reverend Al Green.

[defend yourself]
AL GREEN

By Isabelle Davis

Extended Interview: Web Exclusive

The greatest Southern soul singer of all time. The man responsible for many conceptions. The 62-year-old reverend with a flawless falsetto. The crusader of love and happiness. The legendary Al Green.


HI, HOW ARE YOU?

I don't know.

YOU DON'T KNOW?

No.

NO? WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?

Trying to get reregulated back to American time.

WHERE WERE YOU JUST AT?

Stockholm.

HOW WAS IT OVER THERE?

Sold out.

GOOD, GOOD! I'M GLAD. I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.

OK. Number one.

I SAW YOU AT THE NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL IN 2007.

Good!

AND I SAW YOU THIS PAST SUMMER IN CHICAGO, I WENT WITH MY MOM.

Did you like it?

I'M ACTUALLY IN CHICAGO RIGHT NOW.

No, I mean did we do a good show?

EACH TIME I SAW YOU, IT WAS LIKE LISTENING TO ONE OF YOUR RECORDS. IT WAS JUST IMPECCABLE.

It was like this trance thing they was talking about overseas, "He goes into some type of trance or something performing these songs." But I mean, I don't mean to, but the songs themselves have a transcendental type of motion, of movement to them or something.

THEY DO, AND I WAS GOING TO TELL YOU, YOUR VOICE HAS NOT CHANGED A BIT. HOW DO YOU KEEP IT IN SUCH IMMACULATE CONDITION?

Well, those are nice words you're using now Ms. Davis, but I don't know, I don't do anything. I didn't give it to me, so I don't really know how to keep it. All these songs I didn't give it to me either, so I kinda, like, don't know. I know they were talking about me walking, prancing, back and forth, backstage, walking from end to end of the dressing room before you go on, I just get, it's not upset, I'm just nervous. I have a lot of emotion, I guess, pent up on the inside and I'm trying to just, while they're getting prepped, you know, ready to call you on, I'm trying to, I'm just a total wreck. And I'm trying to—and then when I get out there, then, slowly it goes away.

STILL, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, YOU GET STAGE FRIGHT?

Ohhh! See! I shoulda thought of that. See, stage fright, that's what it's called.

THERE YOU GO!

I mean, I guess I still've got it, because it just amazes me. I don't know, I don't call it that. I'm just nervous before, well, you know.

I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE ABOUT LAY IT DOWN. BEAUTIFUL ALBUM. AND I WANTED TO ASK YOU, I READ THAT WHEN YOU GUYS WERE GETTING READY TO MAKE THE ALBUM, YOU AND THE FELLOW PRODUCERS WANTED TO KEEP THE CAMEO LIST RELATIVELY SHORT. I HEARD YOU GUYS WERE GETTING, OBVIOUSLY, CALLS, YOU KNOW, OFF THE HOOK, PEOPLE WANTING TO CONTRIBUTE AND BE INVOLVED. HOW DID YOU GUYS CHOOSE CORINNE BAILEY RAE, JOHN LEGEND, ANTHONY HAMILTON? HOW DID YOU GUYS WEED OUT EVERYBODY THAT WANTED TO BE INVOLVED?

That's amazing because, we kinda like, didn't plan it. We planned to do a duet album. That was a plan. But who, was to do, who was Al gonna do the duets with? That we didn't plan. And the people that we had wrote down in the car on the way to the studio was either, well, one was Justin Timberlake—he was in Australia so he couldn't do it—there was other folks that we had—they were on tour in Canada or someplace so they couldn't do it. And the very people that we didn't think could do it, like John, just so happened to be in New York and heard about the album and came over to hear one of the tracks, John Legend, and he liked "Stay with Me (By the Sea)". And there you go, it's weird stuff, I mean, it's just kinda weird, we didn't plan it, Anthony Hamilton came to the studio, brought his wife, he heard the song "Lay It Down," he said, "Hey, man, lemme put some background vocals on it," and we already, me and Corinne, had already put background vocals on it, so we told him, "Go on and put 'em on there" and he put it on there and we used it, it turned out to be the background vocals for the song. I don't know. It's me and Anthony singing. I don't really know how this stuff came to be, but it's very miraculous how it did come out, you know, because we're all kinda amazed that it came out as well as it did. Free-for-fall, like free-for-fall, not planned it.

HOW DID WORKING WITH ?UESTLOVE AND JAMES POYSER DIFFER FROM WORKING WITH WILLIE MITCHELL? WHAT WAS ONE OF THE MAIN DIFFERENCES?

I don't know what the differences is because if you see the video on the quick clip—

YEAH, I'VE SEEN IT.

It's just, like, everybody's gathered around, Al's sittin' on the floor, with 10,000 papers scattered around everywhere, and everybody, the bass player you know, Adam Blackstone, all these people are gathered around, the organ player, all these people are gathered around him in the center of the floor, we were writing these songs.

IT WAS MORE OF A COMMUNAL EFFORT.

Yeah, it's like on an inspiration. You just do something on inspiration. I'm not planning it. [It's not like], "These eight songs we done had in the trunk for 50 years." I mean these songs we just wrote in February.

I KNOW, I MEAN, THE ALBUM SOUNDS VERY, VERY ORGANIC.

Yeah.

DID YOU GUYS HAVE SOME EDITING PROCESSES? YOU KNOW, MAYBE DO A SONG AND GO BACK AND BE LIKE, OK THIS WORKS, I STILL FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT. DID YOU HAVE A WAY TO KIND OF TRIM IT DOWN TO THE 11 CUTS THAT WOUND UP ON THE ALBUM?

No, I was on tour when they were doing that part [laughs], but I'm telling you the whole thing, I mean it's weird—when they did the mixing, I wasn't even up in New York, I was on tour, and you know, all the musicians were calling me telling how it was turning out and it was like, "Oh, OK fantastic, can you send me a cut of it?" They would send me maybe a cut. But I wasn't really there to tell them to take this out, put this in, trim this down. I wasn't there to do that, no.

WOULD YOU WORK WITH THEM AGAIN? WOULD YOU WORK WITH ?UESTLOVE?

Oh, I'd love to.

I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS LOVE, BECAUSE A LOT OF SOUL MUSIC IS MARRIED TO GOSPEL, AND MANY OF YOUR SONGS, YOUR OLDER SONGS AND ON THIS ALBUM, COULD BE TALKING ABOUT A LOVE FOR A HIGHER POWER, OR A PERSON. THESE RELIGIOUS CONNOTATIONS, ARE THEY A CONSCIOUS EFFORT WHEN YOU'RE SINGING? OR IS IT MORE AN OPEN-ENDED THING, LIKE YOU CAN TAKE WHAT YOU WANT FROM IT AS A LISTENER?

Oh, it's uh, it's uh, you can't just go into a studio that's costing you four or five thousand dollars a day, and you got all these musicians that you gotta pay, studio session costs, and you don't know what you wanna say [laughs]. No, you know what you wanna say and we wrote this, but the design is like, "Take me to the river, wash me down, cleanse my soul, and put my feet on the ground."

IT'S NOT ONLY FOR A PERSON, BUT IT COULD BE A LOVE FOR ANYBODY, A HIGHER POWER.

Right, it could. How could anybody say, for instance, if you use it metaphorically, "Take me to the river, wash me down," cleanse me, and then they said "cleanse my soul." Well how is a person gonna cleanse your soul and put my feet on the ground? That's like I'm talking to somebody that's gonna be higher than somebody who just simply says, "I love you and I'll see you after dinner." Of course the songs have a meaning. "Lay it down" means, a secular connotation, it means, you know, like what Al says on the stage, he say "lay it down," he say "lay your love down," it's intertwined like that because he has a design he wants to follow and he has a desire to follow a certain design and he's leaving himself space and room.

I KNOW YOUR DAUGHTER SINGS BACKUP. WHAT'S THAT LIKE, TOURING WITH HER? IS THAT FUN?

Yeah, I would like to hang her. [laughs] No, she's a sweetheart and she's got a beautiful voice and the girls, Valisa too, is a friend of hers, and they just do a great job and I'm real proud of them.

IS SHE JUST LIKE, "OH WHATEVER, YOU'RE JUST MY DAD, WHATEVER."

Yeah, I mean, that's Dad, and on the road I just, I kinda let her and Valisa handle a lot of things I don't have to do on the road. Because this is my daughter, and this is Valisa, and Valisa is a member of the church also, and my daughter is a member of the church also, and I'm the pastor of the church also, and therefore we on the road also, singing "Love and Happiness" also. So it's kinda like a trip, it's far out; I mean people are out here. I mean I don't know if He's trying to draw people to a certain idea. I'm trying to draw people to a certain lifestyle. A better lifestyle.

A LIFESTYLE OF LOVE AND POSITIVITY.

Guns and drugs and this and that and violence and shooting and killing and cutting—I'm trying to draw people to a "Love and Happiness," yeah, you know, right, right.

WHAT'S YOUR LIFE LIKE BEING A REVEREND IN MEMPHIS WHEN YOU'RE NOT TOURING? DO PEOPLE STILL COME UP TO YOU ALL THE TIME, STARSTRUCK?

Well, I live in Memphis. So living in Memphis, people give you your space. But [laughs] they'll follow you to a restaurant. They love you and [are like], "I don't wanna impose, but could you sign the back of my T-shirt?" And I'm like, "You got the T-shirt on!" And the lady says, "I don't care! Al, just sign it!" And I just laugh and hug her and sign it for her because I know it ain't about nothin' man, it ain't about no big thing, man. I mean, I been living here 26 years so I mean, everybody know me and they know me, but still, [they're like], "I don't want him to think I'm just starstruck, but still, I'm drawn to him and I love his music and I love the songs that he's made and he's still making." And it's kinda like that, yeah.

I KNOW YOU GET THIS ALL THE TIME, BUT YOUR MUSIC TRULY CHANGED MY LIFE, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU.

Thank you, Ms. Davis, it was a pleasure talking to you.

[Al Green. Fri 11.21.08. Showcase Live, 23 Patriot Place, Foxborough. 781.461.1600. 8pm/all ages/$80-$175. ticketmaster.com]

defend yourself: Al Green [Weekly Dig]

When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You: The Anthony Hamilton Edition

So idolator picked up on Southern soul man Anthony Hamilton's new (kinda) single "Cool" today. The post is entitled "Anthony Hamilton, R&B's Tough-Luck Story" and bemoans the fact that he gets the music industry's back burner when it comes to video rotation (besides Vh1 Soul and mtvU) and airplay outside of urban stations. The tone is all, he's so great, he has gold and platinum albums and his new video clip is so "charming" so why does he get snubbed when it comes to exposure on mainstream video channels? Well, Dan Gibson of idolator is right; the video for "Cool" is charming and should get more attention. And yes, Hamilton is good. But good shouldn't mean boring. And that's what Hamilton is slowly becoming. Very. Boring. And it hurts me to say that, because his voice is so amazing. He has always been a vocal throwback (in a good way), to Al Green and Otis Redding: his voice drips with feeling and grit. He's great live too. But the best part of an Anthony Hamilton song should never ever ever be a David Banner (yes, that David Banner) rap. 

The song is all about love providing everything this couple needs and the video follows suit: they have no milk for their coffee, their TV breaks, their car overheats and Anthony gets hit by lightning while fixing it (with the assistance of Mr. Banner, who drops the hilarious line: "we can call our white friends up and drink our Miller Genuine Draft/then kick 'em all out of the house, take us a bath") but through it all they laugh and shake it off because they have each other. Sweet sentiment and all, but sonically, the bouncy banjo hydraulics are way played and it is so repetitive, I feel like I'm listening to a snippet on loop. It sounds like a Nappy Roots song from like, 5 years ago. This bums me out. When did Anthony Hamilton become so derivative? His 2003 album Comin' From Where I'm From is so beautiful and textured with his gravelly and gut wrenching vocals ("Charlene" makes me cry, "Float" makes me wanna take my pants off and the James Poyser co-written "Cornbread, Fish & Collard Greens" is one of my all time favorite tunes) and every single song sounds rich and layered with Muscle Shoals like complexities. His 2005 "sophomore" effort (he's had a few compilations, a barely recognized 1996 debut and some re-releases too) Ain't Nobody Worryin' isn't my favorite but it had solid production from the likes of Raphael Saadiq, ?uestlove and James Poyser and garnered major critical acclaim. But if this single is indicative of the rest of his upcoming The Point of it All (which is slated to drop this December, after being pushed from it's original summer release), I'm even more concerned about him than I was when he sang the chorus on Nick Cannon's plea to save the babies. And Dan is right again, Hamilton has been around for a minute and deserves a great amount of success (fun fact: he sang back up for D'Angelo during the Voodoo tour) but I'm not rooting for this "tough-luck" story until the new album drops. Oh, and your contribution to the Soul Men soundtrack is NOT helping. Hamilton, you're on notice. 

Anthony Hamilton, R&B's Tough-Luck Story [idolator]

I'm Still In Love With You.

While it's too early to actually start believing that D'Angelo's new album is dropping this fall (readthisexcellentSpinpieceRIGHTNOW), it is definitely not too early to deem certain artists' efforts as the Best of 2008...so far. And unless you don't have a heart or working hammers, anvils and stirrups, then you know that the Rev. Al Green's Lay It Down is quite possibly the greatest "classic" soul album to emerge since well, the initial Soulquarian movement that spawned Voodoo. And that isn't surprising, considering ?uestlove was at the producer helm for both.

At least three years in the making, Green's "real" comeback hadn't really been executed to perfection until this Ahmir Thompson and James Poyser dream project came to fruition at Electric Lady: Dap-King horns, Anthony Hamilton, Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend (even his black Liberace schtick can't taint his contribution on the lovely and twinkling duet "Stay With Me (By the Sea)"), Jaguar Wright and of course, the late and great Chalmers "Spanky" Alford flesh out what already was a promising and titillating concept: take the Rick Rubin/Jack White M.O. (retooling an icon's sound ever so slightly with the benefit of younger producers/younger working musicians aesthetics, while expanding on what made said icon so great in the first place, also known as not fucking with an already good thing and trying to make a legend play catch up with the Top 40 club) and apply it to the last working living soul legend. It had been ?uest's dream to do so (and he has previously turned down Stevie Wonder, citing too much pressure and personal anxiety over that hypothetical project) and he knew he could do it. It was just a matter of making Blue Note realize that they had dropped the ball, and kindly asking Willie Mitchell to stand back and let the youngsters take the reins.

The resulting sessions unfolded the same way the famed Voodoo recording sessions did: no pressure, a slow layering process, and a heavy editing hand. If a song worked, they came back to it a few months later just to make sure it still smacked of epicness. Jam sessions, writing while rehearsing, and of course, simplicity paved the way for the album I personally have been waiting for since I was a little kid. I grew up on Al and the other soul and R&B greats, but I grew up on what my mother and her generation experienced first hand. I could and did listen to Let's Stay Together a million times, but even as a child couldn't help but think, if he's still alive, why isn't he making music like this anymore? And despite his gospel era, the truth was, he wasn't making music like he did at Hi Records thirty years ago. He could, but he wasn't. And part of that is the unfortunate fate many of our Hall of Famers face: act like you're still 20 years-old to appeal to the 20 year-old set, or else you are a relic, or at best, starring in an awkward Victoria's Secret commercial.

Lay It Down combines the lush strings of Green's Memphis days with the sharp and full horns of his '70s reign (courtesy of the Dap-Kings), and lucky for us and Green, his voice has not changed one octave since he first started. Every single moan, squeal and emotive vocal arpeggio is there, matched by the basic organ styling of Poyser, crisp and simple drums of Thompson and the lilting and gorgeous guitar riffs of Alford. This record is Green's first Top 10 album since 1973. It is the most organic and natural sounding execution he has attempted since his beautiful and raw "farewell" to the secular world, 1977's The Belle Album. It is without any doubt, any hype, any bullshit, an immediate classic.