Al Green, “Again” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

On the 19^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2022), we recollect and reflect on “Again” by Al Green. 

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he vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! On the 19^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2022), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Again”, performed by 🎙 Al Green.

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Theme & Lyrics ✍ 

“Well, I’m trying Lord, to be full of Your conviction / Some time, temptation has its way.” So true! For a substantial period, 🎙 Al Green stepped away from the secular music that made him a soul icon.  His music still retained a degree of soulfulness but added more Jesus and much less sex. “Will You hear my prayer, You don’t owe me nothing,” Green sings on 🎵 “Again” (💿 Love is Reality), continuing, “I need to feel You again and again.” A record like 1992’s “Again” doesn’t carry the same weight or sit in the same tier as “Let’s Stay Together”, but it’s still a throwback gem worth highlighting.

Like many of his 80s/90s records, petitioning, praising, and worshiping God is top of the list for Al Green on “Again.” The record does a fine job of blending adult contemporary R&B and contemporary gospel, finding sweet balance.  Vocally, Green is as electrifying elevating praise as he is referencing love on his more iconic gems.  The best moment of the song is when he riffs over the chorus, performed at the end by a children’s choir.  It’s this moment, coupled with that lilting compound duple meter that solidifies the sheer excellence of “Again.” The saxophone solo isn’t too shabby either!

“When you think you stray too far

And you’re afraid to ask once more

Remember child that you are mine

I’ll hear your prayer and take you back again.”

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Final Thoughts 💭 

Even when he’s singing for the Lord, Al Green is iconic.  The Rev. is a beast! Am I allowed to say that?

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🎙 Al Green • 💿 Love is Reality • 🏷 Word • 🗓 1992

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Al Green, “Again”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 19 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, cotton bro,  The Musical Hype, Word]

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