Al Green: Greatest Hits
(Capitol/Hi Records 1995)
Embracing the evolution of Lindy Hop to more modern music, this album takes us
not quite into this generation, but at least into the 70s. The 70s is
often slandered as the age of bad music and bad culture, and there is something
to that slander (otherwise it wouldn't make sense). However, the 70s was
the era of great Soul singers, and Al Green was arguably one of the last great
Southern Soul singers.
There is only one "swingish" song on this album: and it is a very slow swing at that. But what it lacks in Swing, it makes up in "Westie Lindy" music: at least eight great dance songs (including the ubiquitous, "Let's Get Together" featured in Pulp Fiction), and virtually no "undanceable" songs. For those who really like this album, the Rhino CD "More Greatest Hits" has a comparably strong line-up of lesser-known but equally soulful songs on it. With the five extra hits on the 1995 re-release of the original 1975 album, this is a great album.