Review of Al Green's Lay it Down

I think that similar to your wardrobe, your music collection should follow the same rules. You need a few staple, classic pieces that go with everything, for example, the classic black dress. I've had my little black dress since I was 19, and it has pretty much accompanied me on almost all of my travels and it translates well into almost all social gatherings.

Al Green's Lay it Down is the little black dress of R&B and soul. It is a nice collection of songs in the classic Al Green sense, his crooning voice over soulful beats can be played over dinner, while working, writing a blog (as I'm doing now) or even while going for a walk. It probably will stay with you for many years to come.

My favorite thing about this album is that it stays true to the vintage sound, this album, in spite of the collaboration with Corrine Bailey Rae, John Legend and Anthony Hamilton, is undoubtedly and wholly Al Green.

The soulful, mournful yet uplifting album reminds me of a driving down a beautiful tree-lined road on an August afternoon or walking around in downtown Chicago in March. His mellifluous vocals are as smooth as marscapone, the instrumentals are very 70's inspired. It is amazing how one album can evoke so many sentiments in one sitting.


Al Green
Lay it Down
Release Date: May 27, 2008
Label: Blue Note Records