Tuesday, May 27, 2008

LAY IT DOWN

Al Green

Yes, Al Green has turned to members of the hip-hop generation to invigorate his latest disc, "Lay It Down," but don't worry -- the Reverend hasn't turned to rapping.

There is no awkward, age-inappropriate makeover that renders Green unrecognizable on "Lay It Down": The production work of Ahmir Thompson, better known as the Roots drummer ?uestlove, and keyboardist James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Common) provides only a subtle, reverential freshening. With vintage organ work, guitar chords and crisp horns, along with guest vocals from the current crop of prominent R&B/soul singers, Thompson and Poyser create their own version of the sophisticated, distinctive Hi Records soul sound that helped launch Green to stardom.

"You've Got the Luv I Need" starts off with hard-hitting Memphis percussion and blues guitar, then melts into a sparkling, mellow composition that is a steady platform for Green's powerful voice. Singer Anthony Hamilton's appearance on the song provides an unobtrusive update -- the North Carolina native's emotive Southern comfort vocals are a natural match for Green's style. Other new-schoolers -- John Legend on "Stay With Me (by the Sea)" and Corinne Bailey Rae on the languorous throwback "Take Your Time" -- also do an admirable job of lightly putting their stamp on songs, but have the wisdom to mostly stay out of Green's way.

With his fan club members backing him, Green's growls and precious high notes on the steady groove of "Just for Me," the tortured love song "Too Much" and the sumptuous title track recall the material of 1971's "Al Green Gets Next to You" and 1972's "I'm Still in Love With You" and find the soul great fully of fire and brimming with youthful energy.

-- Sarah Godfrey

Al Green is scheduled to perform on July 15 at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap.

DOWNLOAD THESE:"You've Got the Luv I Need," "Too Much," "Take Your Time"

SPIRITUALIZED

Songs in A&E

The motto of Jason Pierce's former band, 1980s drone rockers Spacemen 3, was "Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to." Pierce has adhered to that mission statement for his entire career, the last two decades of which have been spent as the creative force behind the sublimely spacey Spiritualized. "Songs in A&E" slightly changes that formula. This is music to detox to. Or at least to come down to.

There are only isolated moments of electric-guitar-rock grandeur or head-spinning psychedelia to be found on the more sonically subdued "A&E." Pierce keeps his usual lyrical focus on the topics of love, death and drugs and sings it all in a frail voice, the result of a near-fatal bout of pneumonia he suffered in 2005. He's always taken as many cues from the blues as the Velvet Underground, and that's never been more apparent. On "Death Take Your Fiddle" and "Goodnight Goodnight" -- the latter closes the album with a chant of "funeral home, funeral home" -- he certainly sounds like he has hellhounds on his trail. That raucous moments, such as the screaming guitars on "Yeah Yeah" and "You Lie You Cheat," are limited only serves to give them a greater impact.

Pierce's greatest strength on "A&E" lies not in his songwriting but in his arrangements. "Soul on Fire" is a straightforward dream-pop song that soars thanks to a string section and backing gospel choir. The same combination transforms "Borrowed Your Gun" from mournful to uplifting, a fitting microcosm of the entire album.

-- David Malitz

DOWNLOAD THESE:"Soul on Fire," "Yeah Yeah," "Borrowed Your Gun"