Thanks to an MTV interview where he dropped a bunch of tantalizing bombs about his production work on the forthcoming Al Green LP that apparently (might) feature(s) contributions from Justin Timberlake (eh), Anthony Hamilton (swoon), and D'Angelo (!). Read on, and if you listen close you can hear the rest of my family shouting for joy somewhere in Pennsylvania:
"It's been putting gray hair in my afro," 'Love laughed. "I'm not producing, I'm reducing it. I'm trying to take him back to 1974 — very dry, very dirty, very grassroots sound. One of the biggest mistakes of modern technology, it doesn't sound gritty, doesn't sound raw. A lot of the favorite records we sample from today, those were recorded in studios that were very lackluster. Those weren't the best studios in the world. Pretty much, I want this album to sound very cheap, very dirty ... the vibe the Amy Winehouse album gave you. More than just the song, the creative aspect. I wanted the engineering to feel like it was made 30 years ago."
I don't normally give a shit one way or the other about Jack White-style big-dick retro-studio talk about the purity of analog and the grime you can only get from a dusty mixing desk and yadda yadda. And this is the kind of dream line-up that will eventually get compromised—the label will stick on a cameo from Young Jeezy, or ?uestlove will draft his boyfriend John Mayer. But screw it, it's Al Green: I'm going to officially get excited for this, especially after how good that last Roots album came out.
Justin Timberlake In Talks To Appear On Al Green Album [MTV]









Comments
the vibe the Amy Winehouse album gave you
Ay-yi-yi. (Anyway, Jess's reactions very OTM.)
Any new music by Rev. Green is good, as well as the interaction with ?uestlove. ?uestlove seems to genuinely understand that the focus is on good music, and if he feels that a crappy studio is needed to get that sound back well...ok, giving it a try cant hurt too bad. Plus, a little guitar part by Mayer wouldn't hurt too much, as long as he keeps the breathy voice to himself.
As much as I love ?uesto and most things associated with The Roots, you kids do realize he produced Common's Electric Circus?
As long as it doesn't sound as bad as the shit-tastic Arcade Fire album, it'll probably be pretty good.
@Vince Neilstein: ??
So if X is better than "shit-tastic", then X is "pretty good"? Did we do away with "okay" or "mediocre" or "tolerable"? I'm not getting the logic employed here.
@Vince Neilstein: Congratulations... you're the 100th person to somehow drag a shot against Arcade Fire into a COMPLETELY unrelated article. You win the internet.
PS: I know I've already used a "You win the ___" joke today, but I feel it was warranted.
@spinachdip: ?uestlove, the Neptunes and Dilla. It was like a perfect storm of bad music from good producers.
al green comeback = very very GOOD !!!!!!!
Actually, the "vibe" of the Winehouse album sans Winehouse herself is actually pretty damn cool.
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