Al Green

It was quite a joy to “discover” the American soul singer Al Green in 2010.  I soon started to love his videos, some of them as much as or more than any other.  And there’s been a rise in my respect ever since.  He has what feels like an unparalleled ability to create fine moments (FMs!).  And FMs are important - if we think about all the FMs he and other artists have created for people around the world, we get some sense of what they’ve given us.

This “Dream” (by Al Green, Fred Jordan, and Reuben Fairfax, Jr.) from 1978, was also in my previous post.  A big minus, that I due to poor judgment earlier saw as just a small minus, is the video’s technical quality.  Still, these less than two minutes make a clear and natural example of “less is more” – a quiet start at 43:30, then a somewhat higher intensity from 44:45, and then the climax, from 45:15: 

  

This “Look What You Done for Me” (by Al Green, Al Jackson, Jr., and Willie Mitchell) from 1973, has beauty and an attractive rhythm, with FMs e.g. after 4:30:

This “Everything’s Gonna be Alright” (by a group of songwriters) from 1990, is a joyful smile, as “Everything and anything is alright”: 

In this "Let's Stay Together" (by Al Green, Willie Mitchell, and Al Jackson, Jr.) from 1993, Al Green makes the audience’s singing into great music, e.g. after 2:10:

Here’s a “People Get Ready” (by Curtis Mayfield) that exemplify the brilliant way he communicates with the audience, with FMs e.g. after 3:45:

And – a charming “Love and Happiness” (by Al Green and Teenie Hodges) from 1973:

What music means to us, is reflected in the way we talk about it.  Examples are “soundtrack of my life” and “changed my life”.  That’s the way I think about Al Green.  The joy he’s given me, will always be there, as a smile inside me.