Al Green - Gets Next To You

Al Green
Al Green Gets Next to You
Hi Records / Fat Possum 1411 

Al Green Gets Next to You was Green's 3rd studio release - originally appearing in August of 1971. With this album, Green and producer Willie Mitchell established their classic sound with their second album together. The main difference is in the rhythm section. Abandoning the gritty syncopations of deep Southern soul, the Hi Rhythm Section plays it slow and seductive, working a sultry, steady pulse that Green exploits with his remarkable voice. Alternating between Sam Cook's  croon and Otis Redding's shout, Green develops his own distinctive style, and Gets Next to You only touches the surface of its depth. Although the album is filled with wonderful moments, few are as astonishing as Green and Mitchell's reinterpretation of The Temptations' "I Can't Get Next to You," which turns the original inside out.