Al Green lays it down at EQC

By Tribal News Writers

For Puyallup Tribal News
Published on: August 21, 2008

The title of Al Green’s latest album, “Lay It Down,” truly tells it like it is. Conceived as a collaboration between the soul legend and a handful of gifted young admirers from the worlds of contemporary R&B and hip-hop, the album is drawn from a series of inspired sessions that yielded the most high-spirited, funky and often lushly romantic songs of Al Green’s latter-day career. The album is a refreshingly old school jam, with everyone laying down the music together, face to face, heart to heart, soul to soul.

The project features the sophisticated R&B voices of singer-songwriters John Legend, Anthony Hamilton and Corinne Bailey Rae, and it was co-produced with Al Green by two of hip-hop’s most innovative players, drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson from the Roots and keyboardist James Poyser, the go-to guy for high-profile artists ranging from Erykah Badu to Common. Add in Brooklyn’s celebrated Dap-King Horns (Sharon Jones, Amy Winehouse), guitarist Chalmers “Spanky” Alford (Mighty Clouds of Joy, Joss Stone) and bassist Adam Blackstone (Jill Scott, DJ Jazzy Jeff), among others, and the result is a modern soul-music dream team, fronted by the most expressive voice in the business.

“The reason why we are doing this is because we all idolize Al Green,” declared ?uestlove. “Even today, nobody has range like him.”

Al Green himself envisioned this project as a way to reach out to younger artists, particularly in the hip-hop community, to find common musical ground and help spread his healing message of, as he likes to put it, “L-O-V-E.” He gamely plunged into the world of the Roots and their posse, cutting tracks with them in New York City. His youthful collaborators took this as an opportunity to get right into his head, turning the sessions into a master class about how to create that sublime Al Green sound and keep it relevant for today.

“They didn’t want to get too far out from the foundation that [Hi Records producer] Willie Mitchell and I built – ‘Call Me,’ ‘I’m Still In Love With You,’ ‘Let’s Stay Together,’” Al Green explained. “That’s all good, they said, but we want to play what we hear you being about in 2008. We want to keep all of the aura, but we would like to have freedom enough to spread our wings and express ourselves. The Roots, all the guys from Philly who came up to do this stuff with us – they were incredible. I could relax because I knew the people were capable. Everyone was coming up with ideas, everybody was pitching in, everybody was helping.”

It all began in 2006. ?uestlove and James Poyser arranged for a get-acquainted session at Electric Lady Studio in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.

Subsequent recording took place over the next two years to accommodate the artists with whom Al Green wanted to work.

“It’s an honor to be able to work with Al Green, who I have always loved and respected,” John Legend said. “He has been an important part of black music history, and pop music history for that matter. Al really is a magical singer.”

Al Green was impressed that Corrine Bailey Rae flew all the way from London to sing with him. She was just honored to be there.

“I was really drawn in by Al’s voice; it’s so distinct, and so fluid,” she said.

Looking back on these collaborations, Al Green said, “I couldn’t ask for any more than what Corinne, Anthony and John put into the album, because they came and they sung their heart. And when a person does that, I’m going to give you the best I feel too.” But he offers us even more on the final track, “Standing In the Rain.” The arrangement is an ebullient update of classic Memphis soul and the words convey the sort of message that the Reverend Al Green would like to leave all of us with, from the young listeners about to discover him to the loyal fans who have followed him all these years.

“‘Standing in the Rain’ – that don’t mean good times,” Al Green explains. “I’ve got afflictions, I’ve got trials, I’ve experienced all the things that can hold you back. But I refuse to be held back.”

“Lay It Down” is surely testimony to that. Al Green may occasionally sing about his own tribulations, but mostly he wants to offer the answer to ours: L-O-V-E is all you need.

Al Green will perform at the Emerald Queen Casino I-5 showroom Sept. 5. Tickets available via Ticketmaster.

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