Livin' For You

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Livin' For You album cover
Album Information
EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 9   Total Length: 38:54

eMusic Review 0

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Michelangelo Matos

eMusic Contributor

03.30.09
Al Green at the top of his game — and that's really saying something
Label: Hi Records / Fat Possum

Al Green's first four '70s albums — from Gets Next to You to Call Me, spanning 1970-73 — constitute soul music's greatest courtship soundtrack. Livin 'for You, released in December 1973, is where the singer gets domestic. You can tell that much by glancing at the song titles: "Livin 'for You," "Home Again," "Let's Get Married," "So Good to Be Here," and that old devotional warhorse, "Unchained Melody." If Call Me was a long dark night of the soul, however honeyed its tone, this is the flip side. The groove is less edgy than on the prior albums, which fits the material: "Home Again" and "So Good to Be Here" and even "My God Is Real" — Al had begun to feature Jesus-oriented material on his albums well before becoming a reverend — all sound like a comfortable evening on the sofa with the one you want not just to sleep with, but to fall asleep next to, preferably for the rest of your life.

But if Livin 'for You is Green at his most settled, he is also flightier here than he'd ever been before. Green had proven himself a master of the cover, but "Unchained Melody" is a masterstroke:… read more »

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The voice...

DrR

The voice is so clear and distinguishable. When you hear it you know it as Al Green. Almost all of his albums are worth a listen because of the voice and the deep soulfulness of his delivery. But when the material is good his albums are great. This is one of those albums. A must own.

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Great Al Green Album

eddieljones

Download this album and be sure to look for the other Al Green albums on eMusic.

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They Say All Music Guide

Starting in 1971 with Al Green Gets Next to You, Al Green albums became necessities. Livin’ for You is Green’s sixth album, and the fourth to be certified gold. (Its predecessor, the classic Call Me, was still on the charts when this was released.) Each of Green’s albums with Willie Mitchell are singular, with their own distinct style, and Livin’ for You is no exception. It takes a more relaxed approach and offers some of his best ballads; the title track is Green at his most engaging, even when he sang potentially mood-interrupting lines like “I’m tired of your bright ideas about leaving me.” “Home Again” and “So Good to Be Here” are romantic if not hypnotic, offering subtle drumming, economical keyboards, and gentle vocals. The biggest track here, the proficient and smooth “Let’s Get Married,” has Green being a little wishy-washy as he sings, “I didn’t mean to say all the things I said/The way I felt in my heart it came out that way.” Although the originals here rank with his best, Green also did good cover work too. The often useless “Unchained Melody” shows up and benefits from Green’s methodical delivery. In many ways, Livin’ for You is the perfect, intimate album for his fans. – Jason Elias

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