Al Green - You Say It!: Raw! Rare! and Unreleased! (1990) CD-Rip

There's no discographical information included on this release, so it's hard to tell the origin of these cuts, but this is no fly by night, gray market release. Hi Records released all of Green's greatest (read "secular") '70s albums, and any compilation of rare and/or previously unreleased material from the Hi vaults should be regarded as manna from the heavens. The material lives up to the album title's promise; the recording quality is somewhat raw (many cuts sound like rough mixes), but never off-putting. The sonic grit only serves to increase the impact of the tunes. For much of this recording, Green is in a hard-hitting, funky mode, eschewing the fragile Love Man style he often favored. Upbeat soul numbers like "Right Now, Right Now" and a churning cover of Chuck Berry's "Memphis" (on which Green has some trouble remembering the wordy lyrics) show Green's debt to Otis Redding.


Tracks:

01. You Say It
02. I'll Be Standing By
03. True Love
04. Right Now, Right Now
05. Memphis Tennessee
06. I'm a Ram
07. Listen
08. Baby What's Wrong with You
09. Ride Sally Ride
10. Eli's Game
11. Sweet Song
12. Everything to Me
13. Starting All Over Again