Reviewed by Dancin' Dave Derbyshire

This is a noteworthy collection of the Rev Green's gospel cuts for A&M. With compilation and sleevenotes by Greybeard Cummings I expected something good and I wasn't disappointed. These songs get better on each listen. Al Green's voice stands up to close inspection. It's a real pleasure to listen to this versatile voice. The notes tell the story of how at a time when gospel singers were being lured away by the big bucks of mainstream, Al Green crossed over in the opposite direction. At the height of R&B superstardom Al was assaulted by a fan who then shot herself in his home. He took this as a sign from God and returned to his faith and established a church in Memphis. Poignant highlights of this collection for me included the voice-over in Al Green's unmistakable dulcet tones as he leads into a song about God's power: "You know, sometimes it seems like everything's going wrong/Sometimes we don't know how we'll make ends meet/But we keep on moving on..." And the penultimate song "Everything's Going To Be Alright" where he sings about Jesus coming back for the "true and good". Not quite up there with those Hi Records, R&B classics but honest, engaging gospel by a true prodigal son.

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