Lay It Down (Al Green album)

Lay It Down
Studio album by Al Green
Released	May 27, 2008
Genre	Soul
Length	44:31
Label	Blue Note B2-48449
Producer	Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, James Poyser
Al Green chronology
Everything's OK (2005) Lay It Down (2008)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	A– [3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
Mojo	[5]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A– [6]
Pitchfork	6.8/10 [7]
PopMatters	9/10 [8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	8/10 [10]
The Times	[11]

Lay It Down is the 29th studio album by American singer Al Green, released May 27, 2008, on Blue Note Records. ^[12] The album was produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and James Poyser. The album features guest vocals from Anthony Hamilton, John Legend, and Corinne Bailey Rae. ^[2]

Lay It Down peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Top Album charts, ^[13] and has received widespread acclaim from critics. At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best R&B Album but lost to Jennifer Hudson's self-titled album. "Stay With Me (By the Sea)" won Al Green and John Legend the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal award, and "You've Got the Love I Need" won Green and Anthony Hamilton the award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. ^{[14] [15]}

Critical reception

Lay It Down has received much critical acclaim. It currently holds a rating of 81/100 on review aggregator website Metacritic, based on 22 critical reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". ^[1]

The album was applauded for bringing in younger producers which critics claimed gave the album a more youthful sound. Thom Jurek for AllMusic commented: "What happens when you put that amazing soul-drenched voice in the hands of hip-hop producers Questlove and James Poyser, and add a slew of superstar guests? Answer: a killer Al Green soul album". ^[2] In a review for Blender, Ben Ratliff remarked that Green had "created a natural-sounding album with occasional horns and strings, taking cues directly from [his] best old records". ^[16] "Lay It Down" was number 15 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. ^[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Al Green.

No.	Title	Featured vocalist	Length
1.	"Lay It Down"	Anthony Hamilton	4:30
2.	"Just for Me"		3:58
3.	"You've Got the Love I Need"	Anthony Hamilton	4:14
4.	"No One Like You"		4:31
5.	"What More Do You Want from Me"		4:13
6.	"Take Your Time"	Corinne Bailey Rae	4:37
7.	"Too Much"		3:30
8.	"Stay with Me (By the Sea)"	John Legend	3:23
9.	"All I Need"		3:41
10.	"I'm Wild About You"		4:51
11.	"Standing in the Rain"		3:03
Total length:			44:31

Personnel

Adapted from CD liner notes.

• Al Green – vocals
• Anthony Hamilton – vocals (3), background vocals (1, 3)
• Corinne Bailey Rae – vocals (6), background vocals (6, 8)
• John Legend – vocals (8), background vocals (8)
• Chalmers "Spanky" Alford – guitar
• Randy Bowland – additional guitar (2, 3, 8, 11)
• James Poyser – piano, organ
• Adam Blackstone – bass (1–5, 7–11)
• Owen Biddle – bass (6)
• Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson – drums (1–10)
• Homer Steinweiss – drums (11)
• Danny Sadownick – percussion (2, 5, 11)
• The Dap-Kings Horns – horns
• Neal Sugarman – tenor saxophone
• Ian Hendrickson Smith – baritone
• Jaguar Wright, Mercedes Martinez – background vocals

Additional personnel

• Larry Gold – string orchestrator and conductor (1, 3, 6, 7, 9)
• Al Green, James Poyser, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson – producer
• Richard Nichols, Eli Wolf – executive producer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2008) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [18] 54 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [19] 87 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [20] 66 French Albums (SNEP) [21] 55 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [22] 44 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [23] 99 UK Albums (OCC) [24] 88 US Billboard 200 [25] 9 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [26] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2008) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [27] 72

References

1. Lay It Down on Metacritic
2. Jurek, Thom (March 27, 2008). Lay It Down - Al Green | AllMusic: Review. AllMusic. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
3. Willman, Chris (March 30, 2008). Lay It Down | Music | EW.com. Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
4. Weiss, Jeff (May 27, 2008). A talent confused by his ambitions - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times . Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
5. From the gentle fire of the first, and title track, this is Green in the role of Love Man and in very fine form. [July 2008, p.100]
6. Christgau, Robert (July 2008). Inside Music: Consumer Guide. MSN Music. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011.
7. Wolk, Douglas (May 29, 2008). Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Al Green: Lay It Down. Pitchfork. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
8. Harold, Claudrena N. (May 27, 2008). "Al Green: Lay It Down". PopMatters . Retrieved May 5, 2025.
9. Rosen, Jody (May 29, 2008). Lay It Down by Al Green | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews. Rolling Stone . Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
10. Wood, Mikael (June 2008). Al Green, 'Lay It Down' (Blue Note) | SPIN.com. Spin . Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
11. Hodgkinson, Will (May 23, 2008). Al Green: Lay It Down review | CD reviews | Music - Times Online. The Times . Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
12. Amazon.com: Lay It Down: Al Green: Music
13. "Chart History - Al Green". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
14. Conner, Thomas [in German] (December 3, 2009). "Complete list of Grammy nominees". Chicago Sun-Times . Sun-Times Media Group. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
15. "Grammy Awards 2009: The full list of winners". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
16. "Review of Lay It Down by Blender magazine". Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
17. "The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved December 25, 2008
18. "Austriancharts.at – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
19. "Ultratop.be – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
21. "Lescharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
22. "Swedishcharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
23. "Swisscharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
25. "Al Green Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
26. "Al Green Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
27. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.