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Lay It Down
Studio album by
Al Green
ReleasedMay 27, 2008
Genre Soul
Length44:31
Label Blue Note
B2-48449
Producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, James Poyser
Al Green chronology
Everything's OK
(2005) 		Lay It Down
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly(A-) [3]
Los Angeles Times [4]
MSN Music ( Consumer Guide)(A-) [2]
The New York Times(favorable) [5]
Pitchfork Media(6.8/10) [6]
Rolling Stone [7]
Spin(8/10) [8]
The Times [9]
The Village Voice(favorable) [10]

Lay It Down is the 29th studio album by American singer Al Green, released May 27, 2008, on Blue Note Records. [11] The album was produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and James Poyser. The album features guest vocals from Anthony Hamilton, John Legend, and Corinne Bailey Rae. [1]

Lay It Down peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Top Album charts, [12] and has received widespread acclaim from critics. At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best R&B Album but lost to Jennifer Hudson's self-titled album. "Stay With Me (By the Sea)" won Al Green and John Legend the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal award, and "You've Got the Love I Need" won Green and Anthony Hamilton the award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. [13] [14]

Critical reception

Lay It Down has received much critical acclaim. It currently holds a rating of 81/100 on review aggregator website Metacritic, based on 22 critical reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [15]

The album was applauded for bringing in younger producers which critics claimed gave the album a more youthful sound. Thom Jurek for Allmusic commented: "What happens when you put that amazing soul-drenched voice in the hands of hip-hop producers Questlove and James Poyser, and add a slew of superstar guests? Answer: a killer Al Green soul album". [1] In a review for Blender, Ben Ratliff remarked that Green had "created a natural-sounding album with occasional horns and strings, taking cues directly from [his] best old records". [16] "Lay It Down" was number 15 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. [17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Al Green

No.TitleFeatured vocalistLength
1."Lay It Down" Anthony Hamilton4:30
2."Just for Me" 3:58
3."You've Got the Love I Need"Anthony Hamilton4:14
4."No One Like You" 4:31
5."What More Do You Want From Me" 4:13
6."Take Your Time" Corinne Bailey Rae4:37
7."Too Much" 3:30
8."Stay With Me (By the Sea)" John Legend3:23
9."All I Need" 3:41
10."I'm Wild About You" 4:51
11."Standing in the Rain" 3:03
Total length:44:31

Personnel

Adapted from CD liner notes. [18]

Additional personnel

  • Larry Gold – string orchestrator and conductor (1, 3, 6, 7, 9)
  • Al Green, James Poyser, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson – producer
  • Richard Nichols, Eli Wolf – executive producer

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b c Jurek, Thom (March 27, 2008). Lay It Down - Al Green | AllMusic: Review. Allmusic. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (July 2008). Inside Music: Consumer Guide. MSN Music. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011.
  3. ^ Willman, Chris (March 30, 2008). Lay It Down | Music | EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
  4. ^ Weiss, Jeff (May 27, 2008). A talent confused by his ambitions - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
  5. ^ Chinen, Nate (May 25, 2008). Music - With New Collaborators, Al Green Pays Tribute to Al Green - NYTimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
  6. ^ Wolk, Douglas (May 29, 2008). Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Al Green: Lay It Down. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
  7. ^ Rosen, Jody (May 29, 2008). Lay It Down by Al Green | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
  8. ^ Wood, Mikael (June 2008). Al Green, 'Lay It Down' (Blue Note) | SPIN.com. Spin. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
  9. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (May 23, 2008). Al Green: Lay It Down review | CD reviews | Music - Times Online. The Times. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
  10. ^ Rogers, Matt (May 27, 2008). Al Green's Lay It Down - Page 1 - Music - New York - Village Voice. The Village Voice. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
  11. ^ Amazon.com: Lay It Down: Al Green: Music
  12. ^ "Chart History - Al Green". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  13. ^ Conner, Thomas (December 3, 2009). "Complete list of Grammy nominees". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media Group. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  14. ^ "Grammy Awards 2009: The full list of winners". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  15. ^ Lay It Down on Metacritic
  16. ^ "Review of Lay It Down by Blender magazine". Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  17. ^ " The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved December 25, 2008
  18. ^ "Al Green - Lay It Down (2008, CD)". Discogs. Discogs. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  22. ^ "Lescharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  26. ^ "Al Green Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  27. ^ "Al Green Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  28. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
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