| Gil Scott-Heron — The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters (3CDs) [2012] |
Gil Scott-Heron — The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters [3CDs]
¶ "I've loved Gil's music for decades. May he rest in peace. This is must have music. This is music worth hearing. It has been around for a long time, lots of history in it and I recommend it to everyone. Gil spoke the truth!" — Natalie Yvonne Whisenton
Birth name: Gilbert Scott-Heron
Born: April 1, 1949, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: May 27, 2011, New York City, U.S.
Occupations: Poet, singer, songwriter, author
Instruments: Vocals, electric piano, guitar
Album release: November 26, 2012
Record Label: Ace Records
Duration: 62:55 + 68:58 + 36:57 (168:23/2:48:23)
© Photo credit: Andrew Baker & Larry Busacca
Tracks:
CD1: Songs
01. Lady Day And John Coltrane (3:36)
02. Home Is Where The Hatred Is (3:21)
03. Save The Children (4:28)
04. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (3:07)
05. Did You Hear What They Said? (3:30)
06. Pieces Of A Man (4:54)
07. Speed Kills (3:17)
08. Everyday (4:23)
09. I Think I'll Call It Morning (3:32)
10. When You Are Who You Are (3:23)
11. Free Will (3:33)
12. Or Down You Fall (3:13)
13. The Needle's Eye (4:50)
14. The Middle Of Your Day (4:31)
15. A Sign Of The Ages (4:03)
16. Who'll Pay Reparations On My Soul? (5:14)
CD2: Poetry, Jazz & The Blues
01. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (3:22)
02. Whitey On The Moon (2:00)
03. No Knock (2:13)
04. Small Talk At 125th & Lenox (1:23)
05. Billy Green Is Dead (1:31)
06. Sex Education: Ghetto Style (0:53)
07. The Vulture (4:35)
08. The Prisoner (9:27)
09. ...And Then He Wrote Meditations (3:14)
10. Plastic Pattern People (2:53)
11. The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues (5:09)
12. Artificialness (3:07)
13. Ain't No New Thing (4:33)
14. Brother (2:37)
15. Evolution (And Flashback) (3:22)
16. The King Alfred Plan (2:48)
17. Enough (4:13)
18. Paint It Black (0:33)
19. Omen (1:46)
20. Wiggy (1:39)
21. Comment #1 (4:28)
22. The Subject Was Faggots (3:12)
CD3: The Alternate Free Will
01. Did You Hear What They Said? (Alt Take 1) (3:30)
02. The Middle Of Your Day (Alt Take 1) (4:41)
03. Free Will (Alt Take 1) (2:57)
04. The Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues (Alt Ending) (5:06)
05. Speed Kills (Alt Take 3) (3:19)
06. The King Alfred Plan (Alt) (3:02)
07. No Knock (Alt) (2:04)
08. Wiggy (Alt) (1:30)
09. Ain't No New Thing (Breakdown Take) (2:42)
10. Billy Green Is Dead (Alt) (1:34)
11. ...And Then He Wrote Meditations (Alt) (1:33)
12. No Knock (Breakdown Alt Take) (2:09)
13. Free Will (Alt Take 2) (2:50)
© Photo credit: Andrew Baker & Larry Busacca
Credits:
• David Barnes Percussion, Vocals
• Ron Carter Bass, Bass (Electric)
• Cornell Dupree Guitar
• Ray Hall Remixing
• Brian Jackson Bells, Composer, Flute, Piano, Piano (Electric), Vocals
• Jerry Jemmott Bass
• Burt Jones Guitar (Electric)
• Rob Keyloch Mixing
• Eddie Knowles Congas, Percussion
• Hubert Laws Flute, Piccolo, Saxophone
• Billy Nichols Guitar
• Horace Ott Arranger, Conductor
• Alec Palao Tape Transfer
• Johnny Pate Conductor
• Gene Paul Mixing
• Pretty Purdie Drums
• Pretty Purdie & The Playboys Primary Artist
• Norman Pride Bongos, Congas
• Bernard Purdie Composer
• Chuck Rainey Bass (Electric)
• Nick Robbins Mastering, Mixing
• Neal Rosengarden Harpsichord, Tambourine
• Raymond Ross Cover Photo, Photography
• Dean Rudland Liner Notes, Source Material
• Charlie Saunders Congas, Percussion
• Gil Scott-Heron Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals
• Lillian Seyfort Assistant Producer
• Bob Simpson Mixing
• David Spinozza Guitar
• Chuck Stewart Back Cover Photo, Cover Photo, Photography
• Joe Tarantino Tape Transfer
• Bob Thiele Producer
• Harold Wheeler Piano, Piano (Electric)
Website: http://gilscottheron.net/
Review by Thom Jurek
¶ Gil Scott-Heron's first three albums for Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman label have been reissued many times over by a variety of different labels and distributors. While Small Talk at 125th and Lenox and Pieces of a Man have been universally celebrated for their musical, poetic, and militant vision, Free Will, the final date for the label, has been the subject of much debate over the decades. On the original LP, one side featured songs and the other spoken word. While Brian Jackson had been Gil's musical partner since before Pieces of a Man was recorded, he was never given his proper due as a co-composer and collaborator. Free Will reveals that collaboration and balance in full. Before recording, Jackson wanted more music, Gil wanted more spoken word; they got both and the album is all the better for it. It is the contrast and juxtaposition on that recording that provided the impetus for the Dean Rudland-compiled The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters. Disc one features all of the Scott-Heron and Jackson songs recorded for the label, regardless of which album they appeared on. From "Lady Day and John Coltrane," "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" (which, it turns out, Scott-Heron may have been singing into a mirror all along, and by home, he wasn't referring to his family, but America itself), and the second version of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" with musical backing, to "Pieces of a Man," "Who'll Pay the Reparations On My Soul," and more, all play out in an intense, soulful, funky, beautifully remastered, hour-long set. Disc two contains all of the spoken word material, which includes virtually all of Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, the second half of Free Will, and other pieces, including the liberal-baiting "The Subject Was Faggots" and "Wiggy." The lone deviation is "Artificialness," on which Scott-Heron fronts Pretty Purdie & His Playboys on a spoken word blues shuffle. The final disc contains an alternately assembled version of Free Will. While shoddy and edited versions of some of its tracks appeared on an earlier RCA compilation, these are the full alternate takes, carefully remixed from original multi-track session tapes, with particular attention paid to the source material. As such, an entirely different Free Will is on display with a real feel for session flow, despite the separation of music and poetry on it; it's not better or worse, but very different. It is a treasure trove of kinetic studio energy with an abundance of free-flowing ideas in process. The Revolution Begins does present a problem, however. By jumbling recordings into what, in essence, is a pair of anthologies, Small Talk and Pieces of a Man are dislocated from their original contexts, which creates an unnecessary separation between music and poetry that were initially regarded as a multi-dimensional and holistic force. Though that shift in history and intent is present, it's far from a deal breaker, because all of the material on The Revolution Begins is unassailable.
Plus d'infos:
¶ "The three albums Gil Scott-Heron recorded for Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman label are some of the most important in the history of black music. They show a multi-talented artist reaching maturity with his first recorded efforts. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised transcended its place as an album track to become an aphorism, a slogan on a T-shirt, omnipresent shorthand for alternative culture. Over the years these recordings have been treated in a haphazard way, reissued in cheaply packaged collections that used edited versions of some of the most important tracks. The Revolution Begins gathers together every piece of music released by Gil on Flying Dutchman, including a track recorded with Bernard “Pretty” Purdie which has never been previously reissued.
¶ We have gone back to the original master tapes, bringing you sound that’s better than you’ll ever have heard and new clarity to Gil’s words and the musical performances. Access to those tapes has also enabled us to assemble an alternate version of Gil’s third album, “Free Will”."
Notes:
¶ Le label Flying Dutchman ressort un triple CD contenant l'ensemble des albums de Gil Scott-Heron qu'il a édité. Le tout est remastérisé, bref une très bonne affaire.
| Gil Scott-Heron — The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters (3CDs) [2012] |