I Can't Stop (album)

I Can't Stop
Studio album by Al Green
Released November 18, 2003
Recorded March–April 2003
Royal Studios, Memphis, Tennessee
Genre Soul, R&B
Length 53:11
Label Blue Note
Producer Willie Mitchell
Professional reviews

The reviews parameter has been deprecated. Please move reviews into the “Reception” section of the article. See Moving reviews into article space.
Al Green chronology
Your Heart's In Good Hands
(1995)		 I Can't Stop
(2003)		 Everything's OK
(2005)

I Can't Stop is a 2003 album by American R&B singer Al Green, produced by Willie Mitchell and released on the Blue Note label. The album was Green's first release since 1995, his first for Blue Note and his first collaboration with Mitchell since 1985's He Is the Light; it was also Green's first completely secular recording since the 1970s. The reunion between Green and Mitchell was highly-anticipated, and I Can't Stop was a commercial success, peaking at #9 R&B and #53 pop, Green's highest placing on both charts since Al Green Is Love back in 1975.

Contents

Reception

I Can't Stop received a mainly positive critical reaction, and has a favorable Metacritic rating of 75/100 based on 18 reviews.[1] Its similarity to Green's classic Hi Records albums of the 1970s was noted, as was the refreshing absence of collaborations and guest-artist contributions which might have been expected as a marketing device on a contemporary album by a 1970s R&B legend. The enduring quality of Green's voice was widely praised; Mojo opined "(Green) is, if anything, singing better than ever".[2] The strength of the album's material was also noted. In The Guardian, Alexis Petridis stated "The songwriting is largely superb, which keeps the album from sounding like a clever pastiche",[3] while Kevin Forest Moreau of ShakingThrough.net said "There's not a sub-par song in the bunch".[4]

Some reviews expressed reservations about over-production; Tom Smucker of Village Voice said "I Can't Stop works...as proof that Green's groove, voice and riffs are largely intact. But (he) gets tied down when production's slathered on a bit too thick".[5] A negative review in Blender described the album as "a weak echo of those gloriously clean and spacious [1970s] LPs".[6]

Track listing

  1. "I Can't Stop" - 3:48
  2. "Play to Win" - 4:38
  3. "Rainin' in My Heart" - 4:45
  4. "I've Been Waitin' on You" - 3:43
  5. "You" - 4:29
  6. "Not Tonight" - 4:25
  7. "Million to One" - 4:52
  8. "My Problem Is You" - 6:28
  9. "I'd Still Choose You" - 4:05
  10. "I've Been Thinkin' Bout You" - 4:04
  11. "I'd Write a Letter" - 3:53
  12. "Too Many" - 4:01

Singles

Personnel

Al Green - Vocals
Donna Rhodes, Sandra Rhodes, Charlie Chalmers - Background vocals
Lester Snell - Piano
Robert Clayborne - Organ
Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, Charles "Skip" Pitts - Guitar
Leroy Hodges - Bass
Steve Potts - Percussion
Scott Thompson - Trumpet
Jack Hale - Trombone
Andrew Love, Lannie McMillan - Tenor sax
Jim Spake - Baritone sax
Joan Gilbert, Daniel Gilbert, Gregory Morris, Liza Zurlinden - Violin
Anthony Gilbert, Beth Luscombe - Viola
Peter Spurbeck, Jonathan Kirkscey - Cello

References

  1. ^ Metacritic.com
  2. ^ Mojo magazine, December 2003, p104
  3. ^ The Guardian: CD of the week November 14, 2003
  4. ^ shakingthrough.net December 12, 2003
  5. ^ Village Voice December 16, 2003
  6. ^ Blender magazine, December 2003, p136
Al Green
Studio albums
Initial R&B albums
Gospel albums
Later secular albums
Other albums
Singles
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