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Album review: Al Green

By Dan DeLuca The Philadelphia Inquirer

Al Green

Lay It Down

Let's be clear: Al Green is never again scaling the supersexy, ultra-vulnerable Memphis-soul heights he reached under the aegis of Willie Mitchell on Hi Records in the early 1970s. But Lay It Down, produced by Philadelphia soulmeisters James Poyser and Ahmir ”?uestlove“ Thompson, is as close as Green has gotten to that high-altitude soul Valhalla in decades. Unlike his overrated reunions with Hi producer Willie Mitchell on I Can't Stop (2003) and Everything's OK (2005), Lay It Down combines plush, cushioned R&B grooves with deeply relaxed love songs that live and breathe. Green's upper range is still in finely expressive condition, and more important, the easily distracted soul man sounds focused on coaxing convincingly real emotional content out of songs like Too Much and All I Need. The guest appearances, by Corinne Bailey Rae, Anthony Hamilton, and John Legend, plus the Dap-Kings Horns, are all sharp and to the point, and ably assist Green in his effort to reveal the old-school tricks he's still got up his sleeve.