Let's Stay Together - AL GREEN****

Let's Stay Together/La-La For You/So You're Leaving/What Is This Feeling/Old Time Lovin'/I've Never Found A Girl/How Can You Mend A Broken Heart/Judy/It Ain't No Fun To Me

Let’s Stay Together was the commercial breakthrough for Al Green who wrote most of the songs. For the next few years he would become the most popular soul artist in the USA. The title track topped the US singles chart and reached No.7 in the UK. (US:8)

“This appears to be the one where Al Green really came into his own. He wrote or co-wrote seven of the songs; the masterful production has crystallized into a warm, cosy, amalgamation of supple funk and soul. The vocal performances are especially strong and the house band, including both rhythm section and horn section, deliver the bare minimum and play it perfectly.”

“Tracks two through nine just seem to roll into one for me, becoming a soup of syrupy strings, ear-friendly vocals, and over-production. While it's a pleasant enough soup, it's still a soup, and not a single song jumps out of it. On the upside, Let's Stay Together is still, of course, a fantastic song.”

“Let's Stay Together is a classic piece of Memphis soul, dripping with great performances. The title track is, arguably, the quintessential slice of Al - a glorious, sultry procession through the soul gears which is virtually a Memphis blueprint.”

“A fairly good laid back soul album - totally inoffensive and easy listening, more straightforward and less preachy than Marvin Gaye, but not as ambitious as Stevie Wonder. This doesn't particularly excite me but cannot be easily criticised. The title track is the instant classic that everyone knows and the rest have a similar sound.”

“Those drums, that groove, and most importantly that voice, are in full swing here. The title track is the best song, and most famous simply because it is his best.”

"Let's Stay Together is a giant that no one can argue with. A song this good might overwhelm the rest of the material, especially being placed as the lead off track, but the entire album is musical testament to Green's singular talents as a singer/songwriter.”

“How can anybody not like the song Let's Stay Together? That is not to say this is the only good song, because most of them are very solid. His voice is probably the best to come out of soul.”