Al Green
Everything’s OK
(Blue Note)

It’s round 2 for the reunited team of the Reverend Green and producer Willie Mitchell and everything is more than OK. Picking up where I Can’t Stop left off, Green wails through twelve soulful songs, backed by most of the same musicians that accompanied him two years earlier. Of course, every track is about L-O-V-E in one form or another (usually the happy kind) and although the lyrics are not particularly deep, the Rev puts ‘em over as well as he ever did. The only misfire is an unnecessary cover of “You Are So Beautiful” that seems incongruous in the context of the album.

Once again, Mitchell (who co-wrote four songs) re-creates his signature production sound that propelled Green to the top of the charts again and again during the ‘70s. These two are the peanut butter and chocolate of the R&B world and to listen to their work is the equivalent of wearing a comfortable old slipper. Green has no problem slipping into his famous falsetto, then unleashing growls and screams that can give one goosebumps. On “Magic Road,” the Rev espouses optimism that one can achieve whatever they aspire to and in one verse compares a wealthy CEO driving a Mercedes to a poor man with a Volkswagen. Hasn’t anyone told him that VW’s have become a little pricey of late? No matter – Everything’s OK is pure retro gold. – David Bassin