Al Green Is Love

the take

Never in my life have I sat down and willingly listened to an Al Green album in its entirety. I mean, sure, I know some of his biggest hits (courtesy of me being born in a soulful Black family, which obviously helped), but never really gave any album of his the time of day. It wasn't until recently, where I discovered a song by Al Green I haven't heard of before on my friend's playlist and loved (more on that later), and that's where my curiosity began. It began with Al Green's 1975 album, "Al Green Is Love", one that's said to be the last during his great run in the 1970's. Basing off what I've heard previously, this isn't much different from what he has released before. That's even more evident with him loosely making a concept album about love. That said, I actually enjoyed the material on here. Al Green's recognizably smooth voice is as incredible as ever on here, especially with him creating soulful ballads that sounds good when you're with your special someone. "Love Ritual" is one track that's still good, but doesn't really do enough to maintain my interest all the way through. On the other hand, there's actually a number of strong moments on here, such as "Oh Me, Oh My (Dreams in My Arms)", "There Is Love", and "Can I Be the One"... but nothing can top "I Wish You Were Here", the closing track that put me onto this album... and is also the song that made me become more infatuated with my friend/crush. That's beside the point, though. Long story short, I'm almost certain that if the rest of Al Green's albums from the early 1970's until this point sounds like "Al Green Is Love", I'm actually excited to see more deep cuts I've missed out on.