Bargain Audio CDs & Priceless Collection (series)

Soul Survivor

by Al Green

Product Description:

Personnel: Al Green (vocals, acoustic guitar); Jimi Randolph (various instruments); Michael Toles (guitar, organ); Bobby Manuel (guitar); Andrew Love (saxophone); Paul Zaleski (keyboards, percussion); P. Leon Thomas, Gerry Peters (keyboards); Billy Preston (Hammond B-3 organ); Debra Carter (organ); Louis Paul, Jonathan Cobert (synthesizer); Francesco Centeno, Errol Thomas (bass); Willie Hall (drums, percussion); Jeff Vilinsky, Steve Mergen (drums); Eban Kelly, Berkley Buckles, Full Gospel Tabernacle Choir, Donna Blackwood, Andrea Blackwood, Jeanie Hamilton, Dennis Collins, Michael Brown, Cutis King, Pat Taylor (background vocals).

Producers: Paul Zaleski, Errol Thomas, Eban Kelly, Jimi Randolph, Deborah McDuffie.

Engineers include: Paul Zaleski, Errol Thomas, Jimi Randolph.

Recorded at Al Green Music Studio and Ardent Studio, Memphis, Tennessee; Mayfair Studios, Ltd., New York, New York.

The most rewarding aspect of Al Green's work was always the way he merged the desires of the flesh with the quest for spiritual redemption. It shouldn't have surprised anyone, then, when he jumped into Gospel music with both feet, completely abandoning secular music and ultimately releasing more Gospel music than anything else. Eventually, he even became the Reverend of his own church. The spirit of salvation drips from every note of SOUL SURVIVOR. As on his other Gospel (or if you prefer, non-secular) releases, all the songs are concerned with the devotion to and search for the divine spirit. While Green does essay the occasional traditional tune ("Yield Not to Temptation"), most of SOUL SURVIVOR is solid R&B. The production may be more geared towards the electronic end than his Hi Records work, but Green's voice is still the otherworldy wonder it always was, and that's what matters most.