Let's Stay Together (album)

Last updated
Let's Stay Together
Letsstaytogether cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 31, 1972 (1972-01-31)
Recorded1971
StudioRoyal Recording Studios, Memphis, Tennessee
Genre Soul
Length33:53
Label Hi (SH-32070)
Producer Willie Mitchell
Al Green chronology
Al Green Gets Next to You
(1971)
Let's Stay Together
(1972)
I'm Still in Love With You
(1972)
Singles from
Let's Stay Together
  1. "Let's Stay Together"
    Released: December 1971
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Christgau's Record Guide A– [3]
Pitchfork Media (8.7/10) [4]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [5] & Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [6]

Let's Stay Together is a 1972 album by the soul singer Al Green, and is the follow-up to his moderate success Al Green Gets Next to You . It was recorded at Royal Recording Studio, 1320 S. Lauderdale, in Memphis and was a success, peaking at number eight on the pop albums chart and became the first of six albums to peak at number-one on the soul album chart (where it claimed the position for ten weeks). It is best known for the title track "Let's Stay Together", which became Green's signature song and his only number-one pop hit single. The album was the third produced by Willie Mitchell and marked the beginning of Green's classic period of critically acclaimed albums. Let's Stay Together was reissued in 2003 by The Right Stuff.

Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It combines elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues and jazz. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States, where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa.

Al Green American singer

Albert Leornes Greene, often known as The Reverend Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including "Take Me to the River", "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still in Love with You", "Love and Happiness", and his signature song, "Let's Stay Together". Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, Green was referred to on the museum's site as being "one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music". He has also been referred to as "The Last of the Great Soul Singers". Green was included in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, ranking at No. 65, as well as its list of the 100 Greatest Singers, at No. 14.

<i>Al Green Gets Next to You</i> 1971 studio album by Al Green

Al Green Gets Next to You is a studio album by American soul singer Al Green, released August 14, 1971.

Contents

Critical reaction

The album's appeal was widespread among critics. At the time, Rolling Stone noted "Green's voice is something to marvel at. He can croon, shout, scat, rise to the smoothest falsetto, and throw in the funkiest growls...Let's Stay Together is, like its predecessor, an indispensable treat." [7] In 1999, Q magazine wrote that the album "shows him as the authentic voice of love's pain and purity on such wonders as 'How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?'" [8] and that "[H]is cover of the Bee Gees' [song] took the soul ballad to new levels of artistry and refinement." [9]

<i>Rolling Stone</i> American magazine focusing on popular culture, based in New York City

Rolling Stone is an American monthly magazine that focuses on popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California in 1967 by Jann Wenner, who is still the magazine's publisher, and music critic Ralph J. Gleason, which became famous for its coverage of rock music, and for political reporting by authors such as Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine broadened and shifted its focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. In recent years, it has resumed its traditional mix of content.

Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by the journalists and broadcasters Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series Whistle Test.

List rankings

Virgin Megastores is an international entertainment retailing chain, founded in early 1976 by (Sir) Richard Branson as a record shop on London's Oxford Street.

<i>Guinness World Records</i> Reference book listing world records

Guinness World Records, known from its inception from 1955 until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous United States editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, is a reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The brainchild of Sir Hugh Beaver, the book was co-founded by twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter in Fleet Street, London, in August 1954.

Track listing

All songs written by Al Green, except where noted

Side one

  1. "Let's Stay Together" (Green, Al Jackson, Jr., Willie Mitchell) – 3:18
  2. "La-La for You" (Green, Willie Mitchell) – 3:31
  3. "So You're Leaving" – 2:57
  4. "What Is This Feeling?" – 3:42
  5. "Old Time Lovin'" – 3:19

Side two

  1. "I've Never Found a Girl (Who Loves Me Like You Do)" (Eddie Floyd, Alvertis Isbell, Booker T. Jones) – 3:41
  2. "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 6:22
  3. "Judy" – 3:47
  4. "It Ain't No Fun to Me" – 3:23

Reissue tracks

Bonus tracks on 2003 reissue

Personnel

Rhythm section

Howard Lee Grimes is an American drummer, best known as a member of the Hi Rhythm Section on records by Al Green, Ann Peebles and others in the 1970s.

Drum kit collection of drums and other percussion instruments

A drum kit — also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums — is a collection of drums and other percussion instruments, typically cymbals, which are set up on stands to be played by a single player, with drumsticks held in both hands, and the feet operating pedals that control the hi-hat cymbal and the beater for the bass drum. A drum kit consists of a mix of drums and idiophones – most significantly cymbals, but can also include the woodblock and cowbell. In the 2000s, some kits also include electronic instruments. Also, both hybrid and entirely electronic kits are used.

Leroy "Flick" Hodges is an American electric bass player.

Horn section

Wayne Lamar Jackson was an American soul and R&B musician, playing the trumpet in the Mar-Keys, in the house band at Stax Records and later as one of The Memphis Horns, described as "arguably the greatest soul horn section ever".

Trumpet musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family

A trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group contains the instruments with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpet-like instruments have historically been used as signaling devices in battle or hunting, with examples dating back to at least 1500 BC; they began to be used as musical instruments only in the late 14th or early 15th century. Trumpets are used in art music styles, for instance in orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles, as well as in popular music. They are played by blowing air through nearly-closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. Since the late 15th century they have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, usually bent twice into a rounded rectangular shape.

Andrew Love was a saxophone player based in Memphis, Tennessee, best known for being a member of The Memphis Horns.

Vocals

Additional personnel

See also

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References

  1. Let's Stay Together at AllMusic
  2. "Robert Christgau: Al Green: Back Catalogue"". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: G". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved February 24, 2019 via robertchristgau.com.
  4. "Al Green: Let's Stay Together / I'm Still In Love With You / Greatest Hits Album Review - Pitchfork". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  5. Palmer, Bob (30 March 1972). "Let's Stay Together". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  6. Hunter, James (11 February 2003). "Let's Stay Together (Reissue)". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  7. Rolling Stone March 30, 1972, p.50
  8. 1 2 Q , October 1999, p.150
  9. Q, October 1999, p.121
  10. Colin Larkin (1998). "Top 1000 album list". Rocklistmusic.co.uk.
  11. "Guinness Top 50 Soul Albums". Rocklistmusic.xo.uk.

Bibliography