Hi Masters, The - Al Green

Advantages: Excellent stress relief
Disadvantages: Too high for most people to sing along to properly!

...Having heard a few of his songs in the recent past (Tired of Being Alone - covered by Texas and Let's Stay Together - featured in the magnificent Pulp Fiction) and the inclusion of a few tasty snippets in a few episodes of Ally McBeale, I was propelled into buying this fab CD. It has a blend of upbeat, dancy numbers and some toe-tapping ballads, but there's a part in most of the songs on this album that I just have to close my eyes to! And I don't consider myself to be an avid fan. This is my only Al Green album, but I definitely wouldn't rule out buying another!... Read review

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Advantages: a wonderful return of an american master
Disadvantages: lyrics

..., the frightfully gifted prodigal son who, throughout mountains of PCP and cocaine, never came home. Stevie Wonder, the golden child who, through the power of his moog and his imagination, took the frenetic joy of the revival to Neptune. I Can't Stop, Green's first full-length secular album in 26 years, succeeds in both showing how powerful and real the myth of Al Green is and in showing how the myth can differ from the artist as well. It not only shows why he is considered as, arguably, the greatest soul artist of all time, but also the full range of the gifts that made him mythic in nature, as well as the deeply human element of his art that has compelled people to it for over three decades. Those looking for the master of controlled sensuality and nearly unbearable sexual tension that created hit after breathtaking hit in the '70s will leave... Read review

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Advantages: Smoo-ooth, romantic tunes
Disadvantages: NoTake Me To The River

...Al Green puts everything into his music. He's now a Reverend, back to performing occasionally, but any recordings he makes nowadays are more likely to be gospel music than the smooth, sexy soul on this album. On some songs he even sounds persuasively raunchy - in "Let's get married" when the song slows down and he starts pleading it turns into what must be the best love song ever. He's very emotional - his hesitant vocal on "I'm so tired of being alone" makes you believe he means every word he's singing. He was involved in writing most of the songs, so it could all be based on his own experience. And yet, at times he manages to sound very laidback and understated. It's not only when Green sings, either: a seductive brass section is a very important feature in his music, along with divine backing vocals, some of which remind you... Read review

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