Evolution (And Flashback): The Very Best of Gil Scott-Heron
No artist articulated the pride, pain, and passion of African Americans in the post-civil rights era better than singer, poet, author, pianist, and composer Gil Scott-Heron. These 15 selections from his historic Flying Dutchman recordings from 1970 to 1972 capture the sting of his social commentary and scope of his artistic dimension. The Chicago-born, Tennessee-reared, New York City-bred Scott-Heron drew equally from the blues, gospel, Latin, funk, and soul and created beautiful art out of the angst of those turbulent times. Together with lifelong partner Brian Jackson on keyboards, and occasionally backed by flutistHubert Lawsand bassistRon Carter, Scott-Heron spoke about the ills and illuminations of black life: from the conga-pulsed identity issues of "Paint in Black" and the title cut, to the vast economic gap between white and black he so eloquently expressed on "Whitey on the Moon." "Small Talk at 125th Street" paints a nuanced picture of the famous Harlem street, and "Home Is Where the Hatred Is," with its Fender Rhodes chords and soulful and cinematic sound, and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" not only prophesized America's future race and class problems, but also foreshadowed the rap and hip-hop movement, which Gil Scott-Heron birthed through his intensity and honesty.--Eugene Holley Jr.