The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (album)

Last updated
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
TRWNBT album.jpg
Compilation album by
Released1974
Recorded1970–72
Genre Jazz, funk, R&B, proto-rap, spoken word
Length33:01
Label Flying Dutchman
Producer Bob Thiele
Gil Scott-Heron chronology
Free Will
(1972)
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
(1974)
Winter in America
(1974)
Alternative cover
TRWNBT CD.jpg
1988 reissue cover

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is a compilation album by American poet Gil Scott-Heron. It was released in 1974 by Flying Dutchman Records and titled after Scott-Heron's 1971 song of the same name. [1]

Contents

Recordings

The album features recordings previously featured on Scott-Heron's first three records for Flying Dutchman— Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970), Pieces of a Man (1971), and Free Will (1972), [2] which were produced by jazz producer Bob Thiele. [3] The music compiled incorporates funk, jazz, and proto-rap styles. [4]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
Christgau's Record Guide B+ [5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]
Los Angeles Daily News A [6]

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was released in 1974 and charted on Billboard 's Top Jazz Albums. It peaked at number 21 on October 12 of that year after spending five weeks on the chart. [7] In a contemporary review, Ebony magazine's Phyl Garland called the album "mind-blowing" and said Scott-Heron "does not merely posture and pacify, but presses one to consider the uncomfortable truths of contemporary blackness." [8]

Since then, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised has received positive reviews from publications such as The Washington Post and Los Angeles Daily News , [9] which said "the roots of rap run deep through this superb retrospective". [10] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said the compilation abandons the homophobia that plagued Scott-Heron's 1970 debut Small Talk at 125th and Lenox in favor of songs that show artistic progress, including agitprop that sounds less arrogant but still committed and improved singing that reveals his compassion. [5] In To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic (2007), William Jelani Cobb said of its significance in hip hop music:

While The Last Poets and This Is Madness pre-dated the beginnings of hip hop, Gil Scott-Heron's 1974 album The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was released as the art form took its first breaths of South Bronx air. Primarily a jazz album, Revolution's claim to the hip hop pantheon was anchored in a title track that found Scott-Heron delivering verse over a hypnotic, funk-indebted bassline—an approach that was so distinct at that point as to warrant classic status. [11]

In the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2002), writer Colin Larkin praised Scott-Heron's anger and passion in his spoken-word performances on "No Knock" and the title track. [4] AllMusic's Alex Henderson recommended the album's "innovative R&B and spoken poetry" to listeners interested in "exploring his artistry for the first time". [3]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"Gil Scott-Heron3:03
2."Sex Education: Ghetto Style"Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson0:48
3."The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues"Scott-Heron, Jackson4:59
4."No Knock"Scott-Heron1:27
5."Lady Day and John Coltrane"Scott-Heron3:32
6."Pieces of a Man"Scott-Heron, Jackson4:59
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Home Is Where the Hatred Is"Scott-Heron3:18
2."Brother"Scott-Heron1:42
3."Save the Children"Scott-Heron4:22
4."Whitey on the Moon"Scott-Heron1:26
5."Did You Hear What They Said?"Scott-Heron3:25
1988 CD bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."When You Are Who You Are"Scott-Heron, Jackson3:01
13."I Think I'll Call It Morning"Scott-Heron, Jackson3:45
14."A Sign of the Ages"Scott-Heron, Jackson4:05
15."Or Down You Fall"Scott-Heron, Jackson3:08
16."The Needle's Eye"Scott-Heron, Jackson4:01
17."The Prisoner"Scott-Heron, Jackson8:39

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Billboard Music Charts (North America) – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Release history

Information regarding the release history of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is adapted from Discogs. [12]

RegionYearLabelFormatCatalog
United States1974 Flying Dutchman Records vinyl LP BDL 1-0613
Spain1975 RCA Records vinyl LP, Spanish editionDBL 1-0613
Germany1988 BMG remastered CD6994-2-RB
United States1988RCAvinyl LPNL 86994
United States1988BMGvinyl LPDRL 11798
Germany1989RCACDND86994
United States1998BMGreissued LPDRL11798

Sampled appearances

The information regarding sampling of songs from The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is adapted from TheBreaks.com. [13]

Related Research Articles

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Gilbert Scott-Heron was an American jazz poet, singer, musician, and author known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackson fused jazz, blues, and soul with lyrics relative to social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles. He referred to himself as a "bluesologist", his own term for "a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues". His poem "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", delivered over a jazz-soul beat, is considered a major influence on hip hop music.

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is a satirical poem and Black Liberation song by Gil Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron first recorded it for his 1970 album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, on which he recited the lyrics, accompanied by congas and bongo drums. A re-recorded version, with a full band, was the B-side to Scott-Heron's first single, "Home Is Where the Hatred Is", from his album Pieces of a Man (1971), featuring a distinctive bass-line by jazz bassist Ron Carter. It was also included on his compilation album, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1974). All these releases were issued on the Flying Dutchman Productions record label.

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References

  1. Taylor, Patrick (June 23, 2009), Review: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. RapReviews. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  2. Dellar, Fred. Review: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2009-07-31.
  3. 1 2 3 Henderson, Alex. Review: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-07-31.
  4. 1 2 3 Larkin, Colin. "Review: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music : March 1, 2002.
  5. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 12, 2019 via robertchristgau.com.
  6. Columnist. "Review: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". Los Angeles Daily News : September 2, 1988.
  7. 1 2 "Best Selling Jazz LPs". Billboard : 36. October 12, 2004.
  8. Garland, Phyl. "Review: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". Ebony : 30. December 1974.
  9. Harrington, Richard. "Review: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". The Washington Post : June 30, 1998.
  10. Columnist. "Review: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". Los Angeles Daily News: December 30, 1988.
  11. Cobb (2007), pp. 43–44.
  12. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Album, Comp). Discogs. Retrieved on 2009-07-31.
  13. Rap Sample Search: Gil Scott-Heron. TheBreaks. Retrieved on 2008-09-25.

Bibliography