Soul and Funk are huge blind spots for me. Not having been raised on the stuff, my exposure never strayed far from what was played on the “oldies” radio station of the family sedans of my youth. Expectedly, these meager offerings provided by the AM/FM waves of my midwestern childhood were only surface-level glimpses of what these gigantic genres were truly capable of.
Discovering “new” music later in life has its benefits, though – especially for me. Free from the chaos and disorder of my younger days, enjoying an Al Green record becomes something to savor rather than merely tolerate, and “I’m Still in Love with You” seems like a pretty great place to dip my toes into a new appreciation.
I’m just about the farthest thing from a connoisseur when it comes to musicians like Al Green and his contemporaries, but I can say this with every confidence: these dudes epitomize cool – and that style and confidence is all over this record. My limited understanding of the genre doesn’t allow me to make comparisons to Green’s other records or to his peers, but “I’m Still in Love with You” is smooth as hell. The vocals and instrumentation keep the arrangements sounding full while allowing for plenty of breathing room between the spaces. This layered, airy analog sound is what records are supposed to sound like but rarely do anymore.
I’m not sure where I’ll head from here, but now that the door is opened a little wider, I’m looking forward to what’s on the other side.
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.