Gil Scott-Heron, Free Will

https://www.injerah.com/web/image/product.template/3107/image_1920?unique=2495c08
(0 avis)

BIS => 2024 03 29
1LP - BGP
1972 => 2014

27,00 € 27.0 EUR 27,00 € hors TVA

27,00 € hors TVA

Not Available For Sale

  • Statut
  • Label
  • Label
  • Genre
  • Genre
  • Genre
  • Format
  • Date de parution
  • Date de la réedition

Cette combinaison n'existe pas.

Statut: BACK IN STOCK
Label: BGP, FLYING DUTCHMAN
Genre: JAZZ, FUNK, BLUES
Format: 1 LP
Date de parution: 1972
Date de la réedition: 2014

TRACKLIST 

A1 Free Will 3:30

A2 The Middle Of Your Day 4:30

A3 The Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues 5:04

A4 Speed Kills 3:15

A5 Did You Hear What They Said? 3:28

B1 The King Alfred Plan 2:45

B2 No Knock 2:12

B3 Wiggy 1:38

B4 Ain't No New Thing 4:29

B5 Billy Green Is Dead 1:30

B6 Sex Education: Ghetto Style 0:50

B7 ... And Then He Wrote Meditations 3:14


DESCRIPTION

Gil Scott-Heron’s second album, “Pieces Of A Man”, showed that his collaboration with musical partner Brian Jackson was very special. The record contained some of Gil’s most revered songs, including ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ and the title track. Although not a hit, it was a big enough success to warrant a follow-up, but when the time came Gil was unsure. With more books than albums to his name, he thought his future may have been as a writer, but Brian Jackson and producer Bob Thiele convinced him otherwise, and in March 1972 “Free Will” was recorded.

The record’s first side comprised a set of songs that confirmed how well he and Brian Jackson worked together. The album’s masterpiece is ‘Did You Hear What They Said?’, one of the most effective evocations of war’s ultimate price. It was aimed at the conflict in Vietnam, but is as relevant today as when it was written. Other numbers seem to focus on the apathy or self-centred attitudes Gil saw in people’s actions. He was seeing the 60s dream turning sour and people standing idly by and letting it happen. It made for compelling art.

Gil’s literary side was represented on the album’s second side, which saw him return to the spoken-word poetry found on “Small Talk At 125th And Lenox”, his first LP. The new material seemed to find him angrier and more incensed by the world. He railed against apathy in society and misuse of power by the Nixon administration. He took white musicians to task for ripping off black American music throughout the 20th century, questioning why Elvis was more successful than Chuck Berry. The only let-up occurs in the final track, ‘…And Then He Wrote Meditations’, a considered tribute to John Coltrane.

“Free Will” was Gil’s final album for Flying Dutchman, and it showed a talent primed to succeed. Our reissue comes in CD and 12-inch vinyl formats. The CD version includes 11 alternate takes, taken from the original session tapes, providing a fascinating glimpse into the recording process. 

By Dean Rudland