Producers: Willie Mitchell, Al Green.

Compilation producer: Nick Coleman.

Includes liner notes by Nick Coleman.

If you're not prepared to spring for the excellent box set, THE SUPREME AL GREEN will provide you with as comprehensive an overview of Green's oeuvre as possible. Over the course of eighteen cuts, this compilation spans Green's magical work for Hi Records. The ten albums he made for the label amount to a Ten Commandments of '70s R&B. His sensuous, improvisational style meshed perfectly with the understated soul of bandleader Willie Mitchell and his cohorts (Al Jackson, the Hodges brothers, etc.) to produce a transcendental experience in sound.

This collection moves gracefully from the anxious funk of "I Can't Get Next To You" to the timeless devotional plea of "Let's Stay Together." On "Simply Beautiful" Green's vocal gift is presented against a stark backdrop, allowing every subtle nuance of his richly textured voice to speak volumes. On tunes like "Take Me to the River" and "L-O-V-E" Green explores the combination of spiritual and earthly desires from which he forged a rewarding career.

Q (7/92, p.106) - 5 Stars - Indispensable - "..A master composer of the unrequited love song, Green possesses a lyricism matched in pop soul only by the teacher--Smokey Robinson himself.."

Vibe (12/99, p.164) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century