Al Green: Still Keepin' It Together posted by O.W.

Al Green: Definitive Greatest Hits (CD/DVD) (2007)

When I got this in the mail, I have to admit...my first thought was..."wait, haven't there been about four dozen "definitive" Al Green anthologies? And to be sure, the tracklisting on here is meant to collect songs you already know rather than pick up on more obscure bits from his catalog:

1. Let's Stay Together
2. Tired Of Being Alone
3. Take Me To The River
4. I'm Still In Love With You
5. Look What You Done For Me
6. Here I Am (Come And Take Me)
7. Love And Happiness
8. Keep Me Cryin'
9. Call Me (Come Back Home)
10. Livin' For You
11. Let's Get Married
12. Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)
13. L-O-V-E (Love)
14. You Ought To Be With Me
15. Oh Me, Oh My (Dreams In My Arms)
16. Full Of Fire
17. Back Up Train- Al Green & The Soul Mates
18. I Can't Get Next To You
19. Belle
20. I Can't Stop
21. Perfect To Me

I'll be really real - I wouldn't have programmed it this way (no "Simply Beautiful"? No "Light My Fire"?) but if you really need a starting point and you want to cover a wide range of Green eras without having to ball for this, then sure, it'll work.

The real bonus is the second disc that comes with this set: the DVD full of Green performance videos. I hadn't seen most of these before and though the acoustic performance of "Simply Beautiful" is very, very, very nice, I have to give the nod to the 1972 performance of "Let's Stay Together" while it was at the height of its popularity. For real - a young Al Green was probably living like the mack with his looks and voice.



Good stuff. He even looks good in a suit that would have been a fashion disaster on anyone else (with a turtleneck no less!)