Al Green - The Immortal Soul Of Al Green (2003) [4CD Box Set]

The careers of most soul greats are marked by a struggle to reconcile opposite impulses--sanctified piety and earthly lust, down-home grit and urbane polish, bluesy pain and carefree jubilation. Throughout the '70s Al Green floated above such contradictions by blithely imagining that they didn't exist. The ecstatic good will with which Green's voice overflowed couldn't be neatly categorized; it contained the sacred, the erotic, and the just plain old friendly. Similarly smooth and rough vocal tones were, for him, equally valuable devices with which to seduce the listener, and his fluid technique was matched by Hi Records producer Willie Mitchell. Sheathing raw soul within velveteen strings, the Hi sound didn't so much combine elements of Stax gutbucket and Philly International suavity as meld the styles whole.

Green's '70s output is near-flawless, which makes compiling him a challenge--why not just go out and buy a handful of his classic albums? Rather than rise to that challenge, the 1997 four-disc set Anthology acknowledged defeat with a hodgepodge of hits, misses, live tracks, and outtakes. All business, The Immortal Soul of Al Green takes a different tack, presenting a genuine overview: seventy-five tracks, including practically every charting hit, in rough chronology. You can hear the early Green, a rough-and-ready southern soul man, grow comfortable within the smoother Hi formula. And you can hear the later Green, tiring of that formula, coast into the late '70s (brilliantly, but coasting regardless) until he steps away from Mitchell to record The Belle Album, a stripped-down masterpiece based around his own acoustic guitar. The set is unified by Green's unwavering sensibility, which, through it all, radiates both comforting warmth and tingling excitement--yet another pair of varied traits Green refused to acknowledge as opposites. --Keith Harris


Tracks:



Disc One
01. Back Up Train (& The Soul Mates) (2:21)
02. Guilty (& The Soul Mates) (2:58)
03. I Want To Hold Your Hand (2:21)
04. One Woman (3:05)
05. Get Back, Baby (2:16)
06. Summertime (3:00)
07. What Am I Gonna Do With Myself (2:25)
08. I Can't Get Next To You (3:48)
09. God Is Standing By (3:15)
10. You Say It (2:53)
11. Right Now, Right Now (2:52)
12. Are You Lonely For Me Baby (3:58)
13. Driving Wheel (3:00)
14. Light My Fire (3:55)
15. Ride, Sally Ride (Single Edit) (2:24)
16. Tired Of Being Alone (2:52)
17. I'm A Ram (3:48)
18. So You're Leaving (2:56)
19. I've Never Found A Girl (3:42)
20. It Ain't No Fun To Me (3:28)
21. Let's Stay Together (3:19)
22. Old Time Lovin' (3:19)
23. La-La For You (3:31)
24. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (6:25)



Disc Two
01. I'm Still In Love With You (3:13)
02. Love And Happiness (5:08)
03. Simply Beautiful (4:12)
04. Oh, Pretty Woman (3:23)
05. Look What You Done For Me (3:06)
06. Call Me (Come Back Home) (3:04)
07. Funny How Time Slips Away (5:34)
08. Here I Am (Come And Take Me) (4:16)
09. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (3:13)
10. You Ought To Be With Me (3:18)
11. Jesus Is Waiting (5:38)
12. Livin' For You (3:12)
13. Let's Get Married (5:36)
14. Beware (Full Lenght Version) (15:08)



Disc Three
01. Take Me To The River (3:45)
02. So Good To Be Here (2:43)
03. My God Is Real (2:44)
04. Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy) (2:58)
05. The City (3:25)
06. God Blessed Our Love (3:56)
07. One Nite Stand (2:26)
08. I'm Hooked On You (3:21)
09. Mimi (3:20)
10. Love Ritual (4:20)
11. Rhymes (3:35)
12. Could I Be The One? (4:07)
13. L-O-V-E (Love) (3:09)
14. Strong As Death (Sweet As Love) (4:21)
15. Oh Me, Oh My (Dreams In My Arms) (2:48)
16. I Gotta Be More (Take Me Higher) (2:45)
17. Eli's Game (4:56)
18. Love Ritual (Remix) (4:17)



Disc Four
01. Full Of Fire (5:13)
02. I'd Fly Away (4:11)
03. That's The Way It Is (3:41)
04. Together Again (5:20)
05. Let It Shine (3:15)
06. Have A Good Time (3:37)
07. Keep Me Cryin' (3:08)
08. Nothing Takes The Place Of You (4:35)
09. I Tried To Tell Myself (3:26)
10. The Truth Marches On (2:41)
11. Belle (4:49)
12. Georgia Boy (7:00)
13. Chariots Of Fire (3:49)
14. Loving You (3:34)
15. All In All (3:38)
16. To Sir With Love (4:07)
17. Wait Here (2:44)
18. King Of All (2:22)
19. Starting All Over Again (3:29)