Al Green (Born 13/04/1946)

Not by any means the Primer's favourite soul singer Green (born Al Greene) was nonetheless probably the most important artist to record on the Hi label, and he was certainly one of the most commercially successful on the roster (which included Ann Peebles and Otis Clay amongst others). He joined Willie Mitchell at Hi in 1969, having first recorded with old school mates as Al Greene & The Soulmates, even forming their own record label and scoring a minor US hit with 'Back Up Train' in 1968.

Right from the start, Green's records with Hi displayed the distinctive backing of the Hi house band and the production techniques of Willie Mitchell. Green recorded with Hi from 70 - 78 (first hit 'Tired Of Being Alone' in 1971) and quickly became an artist known for creating fully realised albums rather than a couple of hit singles with filler material. Because of that, he achieved success in both the singles and albums charts and all his albums, including "Al Green Gets Next To You", "Let's Stay Together" and "Al Green Explores Your Mind" are worth hearing in their entirety. (My reservation is a tendency for over familiarity, partly generated by Mitchell's approach and Green's writing style). Most combined standard cover versions, handled in Green's highly distinctive style, with a selection of self penned material which, despite my stated reservations, still showed a high level of consistency and maturity. There have also been numerous single CD collections of Green's singles material, the best of which ("Very Best Of") also includes a selection of high quality album tracks. Any will serve as a worthwhile introduction to Green's work.
In 1977/8 he went out on his own and produced "The Belle Album", the title track of which continued his success in the singles market. However, in 1976, having already been ordained as a Minister Of The Full Gospel Tabernacle, he gave indication of a change of direction by buying a church in Memphis, increasingly turning away from secular music.

In the 90s, he has returned to soul and R&B but perhaps he is best represented by the consistent and highly polished music he made with Willie Mitchell; he is certainly the most successful representation of the tight, disciplined (repetitive?) sound which Mitchell created. A full Box Set is now available for those for whom a single or two CD retrospective is not sufficient. The best compromise is "High and Mighty - The Story of Al Green", a fine 2CD compilation. If you can't get it (highly likely I suspect) then the "Love and Happiness" 2CD collection is probably just as good and still available (for now).