GREATEST HITS FORTNIGHT (FEBRUARY 6-19, 2012)
Note: this CD is the 1995 reissue containing 5 bonus tracks.
This compilation is consistently listed among the best greatest hits albums in history (e.g., Yahoo #6), even placing at #52 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the Greatest Albums of All Time. I would imagine there are many people that are on this earth as a result of this album. The music is smooth, romantic, and showcases Green's strength: he isn't belting out these songs at the top of lungs, he's almost whispering to the lady laying beside him in bed. Sure the songs are all mid-tempo and formulaic, but when you've got Green singing, they aren't redundant or derivative, they're consistent. On today's listen, I've been drawn to his amazing sense of phrasing - just listen to how he takes the Temptation's I Can't Get Next To You and completely transforms it into an Al Green southern soul song.
Update: In its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked this album at #456.
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard Top 200: #17
- Billboard R&B: #3
- CashBox: #21
Tracks:
| Song | Year | Hot 100 | R&B |
| Tired Of Being Alone | 1971 | 11 | 7 |
| Call Me (Come Back Home) | 1973 | 10 | 2 |
| I'm Still In Love With You | 1972 | 3 | 1 |
| Here I Am (Come And Take Me) | 1973 | 10 | 2 |
| Love And Happiness | 1977 | 104 | 92 |
| Let's Stay Together | 1971 | 1 | 1 |
| I Can't Get Next To You | 1970 | 60 | 11 |
| You Ought To Be With Me | 1972 | 3 | 1 |
| Look What You Done For Me | 1972 | 4 | 2 |
| Let's Get Married | 1974 | 32 | 3 |
| Livin' For You | 1973 | 19 | 1 |
| Sha La La (Make Me Happy) | 1974 | 7 | 2 |
| L-O-V-E (Love) | 1975 | 13 | 1 |
| Full Of Fire | 1975 | 28 | 1 |
| Belle | 1977 | 83 | 9 |
They're all great, but the stand outs for me are Tired Of Being Alone, I'm Still In Love With You, Love And Happiness, and, of course, Let's Stay Together. But don't you dare skip any tracks. Let's Stay Together easily earns a spot of my list of top ten songs of the '70s.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Not specifically related to this particular album, but I was in Memphis last December and, on a rainy Sunday morning, drove by Royal Studios where these songs were recorded. Originally the Royal Theater at 1320 S. Lauderdale St., that stretch of Lauderdale was renamed "Willie Mitchell Boulevard" in 2004 in honor of studio owner and Green's long-time producer, Willie Mitchell (1928-2010).
Previously revisited for the blog:
Everything's OK (2005)
I Can't Stop (2003)
Greatest Gospel Hits (2000)
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