Reinventing a Legend

Al Green- Lay it Down

Jackson Free Press

June 4, 2008

When a music icon decides to break back into the mainstream, the popular strategy is to enlist a hot producer who can help update his or her sound for the current mainstream, while often peppering the resulting album with the hot artists of today. Of course, this is often met with disastrous results. The best you can hope for is what Aerosmith got with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” It made them famous again, but also alienated their longtime fans who didn’t remember the band sounding like a bunch of Marys.

Al Green took a similar path in his new record “Lay it Down,” enlisting ?uestlove, of The Roots, to produce. For those unfamiliar with ?uestlove as a producer, he was a driving force behind several of the most important hip-hop records of the last 10 years, including all of The Roots’ records and Common’s “Like Water for Chocolate.” Furthermore, he was one of the brains behind the best R&B record of the decade with D’Angelo’s “Voodoo.”

At his best, ?uestlove is able to seamlessly cross genres, and has meshed hip-hop and R&B better than just about any other producer. He understands his artists’ influences, even if the artists themselves aren’t familiar with them, and records their albums accordingly.

So what did ?uestlove do with Al Green, who is a major influence among all of his artists and one of the undisputed pioneers of his genre? He reverses precedent, and rather than trying to add some fresh flavor, he goes back to the exact sound that made Al Green the icon that he is—underscore “exact.”

Most of “Lay It Down” makes you feel like you just climbed out of a time machine in the 1970s. Everything—from the muffled drums on “Stay With Me,” to the horn inflections on “No One Like You,” to the organ tone on “What More Do You Want From Meԗsounds like it could have come from the same recording session as “Let’s Stay Together” or “Love and Happiness.”

For the obligatory guest appearances from today’s top Billboard artists, ?uestlove included Anthony Hamilton, Corinne Bailey Rae and John Legend. He makes them cater to Al Green’s sound rather than vice-versa, while never allowing them to overpower Green.

The problem with the production is that if you are listening to an Al Green record that sounds like it was recorded in 1971, then you want the singles’ quality to resemble that of 1971 Al Green, when he released “Tired of Being Alone” and “Let’s Stay Together” back-to-back. While there are a few songs on the record that you wouldn’t mind being put into radio rotation—namely the title track and “Take Your Timeԗthere’s nothing that you could insert onto his greatest hits record without it sounding slightly out of place.

I give credit to Al Green and ?uestlove for doing this comeback album right. They stay true to the formula that made the artist great while never letting the production or guests overshadow the star of the show. And while the slight decline in creative juice may have resulted in this album missing the “classic” label it was shooting for, it is still a good escape to close your eyes and take yourself back three decades to a time when R&B that featured horns, organs and nuance was able to top the charts.

Original Article

Jazzy and Be-Boppin: Jazzfest 2008 Preview

Bettye Lavette

Jackson Free Press

March 26, 2008

With Jazzfest less than a month away, it is time to clear your schedule and figure out which days to attend. Each day has some high points and some equally expendable ones. Here is your guide:

Friday, April 25: I don’t readily admit it, but I have always been a closet fan of Sheryl Crow. I am the guy over age 11 who continues to happily allow “Soak up the Sun” to infect my being. Her and the tag team Alison Krauss and Robert Plant promise to be two highlights of the first day.

Saturday, April 26: This is the best day to skip. The lineup is mediocre, and the audience will be no doubt be one of the most crowded because of Billy Joel’s presence. One of the only reasons I can think of to succumb to such a large crowd is, ironically, to get away from seeing Billy Joel.

Sunday, April 27: This day more than makes up for Saturday. Irma Thomas is a knock-out headliner and will share the day with Al Green, and Elvis Costello with Allen Toussaint. There’s going to be a “Sophie’s Choice” dilemma here, as at least two of these artists will be performing at the same time on different stages. It makes you wish they had thrown at least one of these acts up on a stage against Billy Joel.

Ponderosa Stomp Festival: This annual festival is held April 29 and 30 and features a more interesting lineup than any of the individual Jazzfest days. Slated to perform are Ronnie Spector, Roky Erickson (from the forgotten acid-rock band The 13th Floor Elevators), ? and The Mysterians, Dr. John and a host of other forgotten though equally influential names.

Thursday, May 1: The other relatively weak lineup, this day at least features one of the most overlooked soul singers from Muscle Shoals in Bettye LaVette. Her story deserves an article unto itself, but she released one of 2007’s best albums in “Scene of the Crime.” She promises to be a great show and worth the price of admission herself.

Friday, May 2: The other reason I would stand in a crowd the size of Billy Joel’s is to see Stevie Wonder who, coincidentally, is playing today. This is the one day not to miss (and worth taking a vacation day for) solely because of Stevie. His tours are more expensive than they are rare.

Saturday, May 3: For anyone who has never seen The Roots in concert, this day is worth checking out. They are a band of trained and talented musicians (not just stiffs who picked up guitars and wandered into the studio because they wanted to do something against the mainstream, a la Lauryn Hill). Furthermore, they keep the good-time party aesthetic of old-school hip-hop alive, worrying less about proving their realness than having a good time and projecting that onto the crowd.

Sunday, May 4: Early in the day, a tribute to gospel great Mahalia Jackson featuring Irma Thomas, Marva Wright and Raychell Richard promises to be strong. The festival closes with another loaded lineup, with The Neville Brothers headlining with The Raconteurs and one of New Orleans’ premier brass bands, Rebirth Brass Band.

Every year Jazzfest does a great job at drawing acts from the ’60s through the present along with at least one icon that has stayed relevant throughout that entire span. The festival succeeds once again this year with interesting, supporting and headlining artists along with one of the most iconic in American music in Stevie Wonder.

Original Article