QUINTUPLE EXTRA FIG JAM

Al Anderson - Someone to Give my Love to

Not to be confused with the guitarist with the Wailers; this Al Anderson wrote and played with country and western/rock swing band NRBQ. Loose track from Touch My Heart - A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck (he of “Take This Job and Shove It” fame). Unconventional chords for a traditional country song, a vocal that sounds tired and not quite convinced, and a melody that at times brings to mind a drunken “When Will I Be Loved?” except in place of a pleading release of the chorus, a letdown affirming nothing.

234 stars out of 657 stars.

Al Brown - Here I Am Baby

More insistent and compelling than its UB40 counterpart--Mr. Brown applies Al Green’s sultriness and orgasmic falsetto in all the right places. Bass and guitar wobble against each other in perfect seductive time, but some spooky organ and distorted electric textures at the chorus and the bridge make “Here I Am Baby as much as a headtrip as a body mover.

3,567,385,874 stars out of 4,332,223,786 stars.

Al Green - Greatest Hits

Three songs from the Hits package. “Tired of Being Alone” was always pitched a little too intensely for me, sucker punching the listener after the ringing guitar arpeggio and horn counterpoint intro. “Let’s Stay Together” is as good as everyone thinks it is; the older I get, and the more times I hear it (unfortunately, it seems to be the only Al Green tune anyone cares about) the less resonance it has for me. My favorite track is Mr. Green’s cover of the Brothers Gibb’s “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” - insistent and spare, the vocal sewing through the proceedings like a needle, strings and back up vocals contrasting the sharp heavy yawp of man in pain.

5 stars out of 5 stars.