One of Liza's gems

During our last party – a wedding party – I was being the anti-social bug. That means I was hiding down in the Lab with the vinyl spinning some music for the guests. I get kinda scared of all the people sometimes and the music helps soothe my natural reaction – drink, drink, drink.

So I was down there with the vinyl, and picked out a few gems from the shelves for the folks to listen to. Some of the vinyl was already out, making it easy to chose. Al Green’s self-titled LP (Bell 6076) was one of the beauties.

For this party, we needed two things: Dance (provided by the illustrious DJ Buttafly) and some soul. Al Green’s album fits in perfectly here. It is a great compilation from the late 60’s/early 70’s Green. As it says, it includes “Back Up Train,” along with others like “Let Me Help You.”

Most of the songs on the album include simple melodies backed by funky drums, and fine organ and guitar instrumentals. After burning this to digital, I realized yet again the value inherent in the grooves: the sound is just so inviting that it makes the music even more genuine, in some cases, than seeing the artist live. Or maybe it is being able to participate in the music by dropping the needle and watching the record spin…