The Consumption

Al Green – I’m Still in Love With You

As smooth and sensual a slab of soul as you could ever hope for. Green’s voice is a powerhouse, but he doesn’t oversing a single line. In fact, restraint might just be his greatest strength – the quietest song on I’m Still in Love With You, “Simply Beautiful”, closes side one with a whisper that hits harder than almost any agonized Stax Records wail.

The originals are consistently masterful, all odes to the bliss of happiness with nary a hint of hangdog heartbreak in the bunch – the album title is a reference to continuing bliss, not unrequited pining – and the covers aren’t too shabby, either. Side two opens with the familiar guitar lick from “Oh, Pretty Woman,” doubled on guitar and organ; replacing Roy Orbison’s croon (which aches even at its most upbeat) with Green’s powerfully positive pipes and sweet, string-and-organ-led accompaniment ups the lust while keeping the tastefulness. And recasting Kris Kristofferson’s “For the Good Times” as a six-minute slow-burner gives the album its one downbeat moment, but even that track is far from a wallow. As far as break-up songs go, it’s one of the few that sounds like a pretty decent night.