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|  | Artist: Gil Scott-Heron
Label: XL
Category: Digital Music Album
Buy New: £7.99
as of 7/9/2010 12:50 BST details
Seller: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 7081
Genre: r-b-music
Media: MP3 Download
Running Time: 1696 Minutes
ASIN: B0032JYEPI
Release Date: February 8, 2010
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 21-25 of 29
 Don't (quite) believe the hype February 18, 2010
T. J. Noys (London)
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
An interesting record. GSH is obviously thinking of his own mortality - and the need to earn a bob or two. The album is strong on music and very weak on lyrics - and surely its the latter that we buy GSH for. There are some good ideas which - musically - are modern and come over well, but the lyrics are, generally, poorly developed, there aren't too many of them and generally the songs don't go anywhere.
Its OK - and A LOT BETTER than Spirits, but unless you are a hard core GSH fan (which I am ), I would give it a miss.
 A portrait of GSH last decade February 16, 2010
D. Aguirre (Buenos Aires)
1 out of 11 found this review helpful
CD edition contains one disc (almost spoken) and vinyl edition comes with a bonus (musical) disc .... Needing a marketing manager? Talking seriously this does not seem to be a massive product, and it's consistent with the esthetics of this piece ... short, empty, dark, musicless ........ Not at the height of my expectations ....would have not bought it if was àware. I am a fan of GSH, and I respect his recent/difficult past ...But I expected bright music rather than spoken verses and some tunes .... You still have time to deliver GSH, I'll await then.
 Non Better. February 14, 2010
SPRay1969 (Manchester UK)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This will go down as a contender for best (coolest) album of the coming decade. Imagine the coolest guy singing and narrating over the music on Massive Attacks Mezzanine album then times it by five, this is that album. Stunning version of Smog's I'm New Here as the title track. Just amazingly good, you need it! (Hey Amazon, iTunes have a five minute "making of" video on their album.....)
Long overdue February 13, 2010
Mo (London, UK)
Negatives first...This album isn't very long, but what would you rather have: an ounce of gold or a truckload of excrement?
I'm not going to get into the history of GSH, but needless to say he's as important to popular music as Johnny Cash. Both sell the lyrics, both sell the delivery, and both don't need to necessarily pepper their music with anything beyond the essential ingredients.
Musically, GSH is red hot when coupled with jazz instrumentation as per much older releases, but the sparseness here really is apt for this material.
Interspersed with short, poignant interludes, this raw album will be the one you want to put on when you're down and need something to identify with but also want some hope.
Also, be sure to obey the instructions on the back of the inner booklet. Be sure to listen. There is no lyric booklet.
While to the newcomer I wouldn't pit this up against one of his compilations as first choice, it's clear that this is still an important GSH record. And his voice is still as emotive as it was at the beginning.
Still Burning Brightly February 10, 2010
The Wolf (uk)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
Once upon a time Gil Scott Heron was a dangerous man.
A visionary, brave and inspirationally dangerous man.
Having listened to 'I'm New Here' three times I put
on my 1971 vinyl copy of 'Pieces Of A Man' (it's more
than a bit scratchy and jumpy now!) to remind myself
of just how much of an iconoclast he was. Unafraid to
challenge the very foundations of enduring inequality
under Richard Nixon's tainted kingdom of deceit and lies,
his contribution to the development of black musical
culture and its relationship to political challenge and
progress was both fearless and uplifting in equal measure.
'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' still packs one
hell of a punch. A heroically scathing cris de coeur.
The last decade seems not to have been a walk in the park
for Mr Scott-Heron but here he is once again with a fine
collection of new songs, interspersed with reflective
poetic interludes. Short and sweet and very moving in
its austerely focussed intensity.
The voice still commands attention. Deeper now and more
than a little rough around the edges but still a unique
instrument with an incalculable ability to communicate
raw emotion and uncomfortable truths.
The contrast between the terrifyingly dark imagery of
'Me and The Devil' and the sweet and tender blues of
'I'll Take Care Of You' could not be greater.
This is a reflection of one of his greatest strengths
as a songwriter and performer : the ability to juggle
hope and despair and to survive the differences.
The stripped down incantation 'New York Is Killing Me',
with its eerily disembodied electronics, crackling and
chaotic percussion and fierce gospel harmonies is as
good as anything he has recorded in his long career.
The siesmic rhythmic pulse accompanying the
distorted vocal treatment of 'The Crutch' creates
a unique soundscape within which the stark lyrics
deliver an almost Biblically apocalyptic wallop!
Richard Russell's uncompromising production brings
great understanding and dignity to Mr Scott-Heron's
fragile but undiminished powers.
The flame still burns brightly!
Essential.
Showing reviews 21-25 of 29
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