Call Me - AL GREEN****

Call Me(Come Back Home)/Have You Been Making Out OK/Stand Up/I So Lonesome I Could Cry/Your Love Is Like The Morning Sum/Here I Am(Com & Take Me)/Funny How Time Slips Away/You Ought To Be With Me/Jesus Is Waiting

Soul singer Al Green was enormously popular during the early 1970s with his distinctive vocal style. Call Me includes the US top ten hit singles Here I Am (Come & Take Me) and the title track. (US:10)

“Instead of coming to you, Al never raises his voice. He makes you lean close and really pay attention. He teases and seduces and withholds gratification until even the slightest breath is devastating.”

“The music is a sort of AM soul, with strings (but in small doses fortunately) and gospel style backing vocals, very light and easy. Al's singing style is also very soft, airy with plenty of gentle soothing falsetto, a very effortless feeling. It's a very nice album, simple to listen to, some great songs and good melodies.”

“Call Me may well be Al Green's creative peak. There weren't any major departures from the signature sound, rather on this one they perfected the approach. Green's silky smooth voice was in prime shape, injecting an almost intoxicating funkiness into material like the title track.”

“It’s a bit too repetitive. The soul is good, but there isn't any variety at all. If we had a few better songs on the album it would be much improved.”

“Al Green has one of the most hypnotising voices in soul, not because he wails constantly at the top of his lungs, but because he does the opposite. His soft vocal style is incredibly soothing, and here the minimal production really adds to this, with the organ in particular feeling like a warm blanket.”

“For an album labelled as soul this sure is weak. My main problem with Al Green is that the orchestration that backs up his voice seems flavourless fluff. There doesn't seem to be any actually formed songs here, and the backing orchestration is just plastic elevator music. They're selling the voice, and while Al Green's may be distinctive, it's not enough on its own. There needs to be good music in combination with it, and there isn't any. This is an album that's dry from the moment it starts.”

“This album really is a joy to listen to. Al Green's two tone voice is at once gentle on these tunes, then crying out like a minister in a gospel church with soulful wail. The songs are all strong.”