Lay It Down

In his own way the Reverend Al Green is a fundamentalist. Take some time to study his body of work and it soon becomes clear that, over the forty years the great man has been making records, he’s displayed little interest in tailoring his message to suit the temper of the times. Sure, there have been a few half-hearted nods towards contemporary mores, one or two reluctant stabs at broadening his congregation. But by and large, during all that time he’s stuck, well, religiously to the same hymn sheet; using rootsy, almost subterranean soul as a means of testifying to his flock.
This has meant, of course, that there have been long stretches during which he’s been sowing seeds on barren ground. However, every once in a while, ears are opened and hearts are willing to accept the message. And right now could well be one of those periods. Post-Amy and Ronson, there’s a renewed appetite for horn-driven, old school emotive soul. And the appearance of Back To Black’s in-house group, The Dap Kings, would suggest Al’s advisors have decided that their man is just the bloke to benefit from this goodwill.
Producer Guestlove, therefore, resists any temptation to modernise the groove, allowing Lay It Down to unfurl in an unapologetically classicist manner. ‘Just For Me’, ‘Stay With Me (By The Sea), and ‘I’m Wild About You’, for example, could all easily work their way onto Gets Next To You without anyone noticing the join.
Yes, all this retro fetishism lurches worryingly at times towards kitsch, but it’s delivered with such obvious good humour that it’s difficult to resist. And Green’s voice is, as it always has been, absolutely divine.

Key Track: ‘Just For Me’