Fans of soul-master Al Green are in for a treat with his latest release, Lay It Down, produced by ?uestlove of The Roots. Al may not have the shrill range that he once did, but he can still bring it, rest assured. Give a listen to some tracks here, and while you’re at it, check out Synthesis’ Al Green interview from last fall.

Photo: Al Green and Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson
Photo credit: Ginny Suss

Right now I am clenching my fist and slowly pulling it into my chest, releasing a slow hissing “yesssssssss.” We all know The Rev Al Green lays it down and writes the songs that make the young girls writhe, the cats jive and love thrive, but it’s been a while. However, on May 27th Al Green will release “Lay It Down.” I couldn’t be more ready.

In the video clips, featured guest musicians Corinne Bailey Rae, John legend, Anthony Hamilton, The Dap Kings Horns Section and ?uestLove (who co-produced the album) talk of Mr. Green’s superb vocal and arrangement skills, and from the soundtrack featured in the vid, I’m taking a guess that this will be about A MILLION TIMES BETTER than that overrated Santana record with people like Rob Thomas helping him write material that sounds fresh, yet still retains its classic characteristics…

Conceived as a collaboration between the soul legend and a handful of gifted young admirers from the worlds of contemporary R&B and hip hop, the album is drawn from a series of inspired sessions that yielded the most high-spirited, funky and often lushly romantic songs of Green’s latter-day career….

Al admits, “That’s the only way I know how to work, that’s what I’ve done all my life. You just write it from here.” He taps his heart. “That’s what we do every Sunday. We never write a sermon now. If you can’t preach out of here”–tapping his chest again–”you have nothing to say anyway. It’s all from the heart, this whole album, from start to finish.”

What you just heard was my heart recreating the big bang theory. Eff yes. Check out the video clips if you’re tired of being alone.

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On the heels of the much ballyhooed Rage Against the Machine reunion, Billboard.com announced yesterday that Zack de la Rocha has completed the recording of his first solo album. It’s rumored that work for the record began back in 2000 when Rage originally called it quits, and in that time, de la Rocha has recorded with Trent Reznor, ?uestlove and others, but it’s unclear as to whether those tracks will appear on the album. It has been confirmed that ex-Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore will appear as a contributor. Though there aren’t a lot of details yet available on the project, you can rest assured the finished product is going to be full of ANGER… It’s a gift.