Al Green

The Reverend Al Green is known the world over for his extraordinary voice, his unmistakable sound and his legendary hits.

Where: River Rock Casino Resort
8811 River Road
Richmond, BC V6X 3P8

When: Sep 06, 2008, Sat 8:00 pm
Details: $69.50 - $84.50
Where: Red Robinson Show Theatre
2080 UNITED BLVD
Coquitlam, BC V3K 6W3

When: Sep 07, 2008, Sun 8:00 pm
Details: $69.50 - $84.50

With Everything’s OK, his new release for Blue Note Records, Al Green comes to an exciting new chapter in his artistry. Strong in voice and in spirit, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer sings a dozen songs that reveal his renewed passion for the kind of music that made him a household name some 30 years ago.

Green started singing professionally at age 9, when he and his brothers formed a gospel quartet, the Greene Brothers, in their hometown of Forest City, Arkansas. (Green dropped the final "e" from his surname when he went solo.) They toured the gospel circuits in the South, and then began performing around Michigan when the family relocated to Grand Rapids. At 16, Green formed a pop group, Al Greene and the Creations, with high school friends, and they released a single, "Back Up Train," in 1967 (under the new name Al Greene and the Soul Mates) that went to #5 on the national R&B chart.

It was in the early 1970s that Green carved his place in music history with a run of celebrated hits that made him not just an R&B star but a pop icon. Since 1976, however, Green has concentrated on gospel music (recording numerous albums, but only two pop offerings), and since 1979 has led his Baptist congregation, the Full Gospel Tabernacle, in Memphis, Tenn. For Everything’s OK, Green embraces both worlds by releasing a "secular" album under the name the Reverend Al Green—a symbolic gesture, perhaps, but a significant one nonetheless.

Everything’s OK is not a gospel album, however—musically, it draws on classic R&B and pop, and the lyrics speak of love relationships and life lessons. But for Green, 58, it has come time to spread his message beyond the pulpit. "I've got people in the church saying, 'That's a secular song,' and I'm saying, Yeah, but you've got Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday to be anything other than spiritual. You've got to live those days, too!" says Green, clearly revitalized by his latest recording. "Everybody still needs love, needs happiness in the family, needs to keep the kids on track."

Actually, better than OK, as proved by this recording and recent concerts (including Green's show-stealing version of "What'd I Say" on the recent CBS TV special Genius: A Night For Ray Charles). Throughout the album, Green's voice is strong, his performances spirited.

Genre: Soul