Al Green's just-released Lay It Down is a startling return to form for the soul great; its fluid grooves (co-produced by the Roots' Ahmir ''?uestlove'' Thompson) could pass a blindfold test next to such seminal Green recordings as 1973's Call Me. EW talked to the singer about recapturing the magic.
You've been working on this record for two years?
AG: We [Green and his producing team] had been going back and forth to
New York City. When we finally got together, the vibe was so good, we
wrote eight songs in one night, man [including tracks with guest
vocalists Anthony Hamilton and John Legend]. We wrote right on the
floor, in the studio. I went back to the hotel, ordered room service,
and people said they were knockin' on the door, but I never did open it,
man, 'cause I was too tired.
Songs like ''Lay It Down'' still effortlessly ooze romantic confidence.
Are you like that, or writing ''in character''?
AG: How can you write about something...unless you [know] about it? I
[couldn't] write about something else, because I'd be lying. I just have
what God gave me, see. And I've used my little talent, little Al Green
from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
You've recorded dozens of albums. What do you hope your latest release
will prove about you as an artist?
AG: This is a designer original...this puts the nectar inside the
flower, and the honeybees can come and have it. I don't know what God is
doing; I'm just a vessel.... For me to still have value in the music
industry is incredible, man. But look, I'm 62 years old. If I don't have
it by now, I never had it, you get it?
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