Al Green - Call Me

In the late 80's, Rolling Stone magazine released their 100 best records of all time. In the top 10 was Call Me by Al Green. I had never heard of it, or of him. This amazed and troubled me. Even at 18 I thought I knew EVERYTHING about music. So I went to a local record shop and then another. In whitebread Pottstown in 1988, there was no al green to be found.

I forgot about it. A few months later I was at the now demolished Downingtown Farmer's/Flea Market, and came across a battered vinyl copy of it. I got home around midnight, slapped it on the turntable, and didnt remove it till sun-up

His smooth and longing voice, those fantastic arrangements that exist only at Hi records, and the songs....oh the songs. One track after another pouring right out of the speakers and into my heart, summing up the melancholy of love that only a true romantic can comprehend. I knew this old soul and mine were on the same page, and that I would be in for a bumpy ride.

Like Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, and Nick Cave's The Boatman's Call, this record speaks to my heart and soul. It breathes passion and love. Returning to it weekly like I do is like a rejuvenation, an affirmation. A warm place for me to think.

Al Green's Call me belongs in your collection.

Al Green