The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (album)

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Compilation album by Gil Scott-Heron
Released	1974 (see release history)
Recorded	1970–1972 125th & Lenox Nightclub, RCA Studios (New York, New York)
Genre	Soul, jazz-funk, proto-rap, jazz poetry, spoken word
Length	33:01
Label	Flying Dutchman/RCA BDL 1-0613
Producer	Bob Thiele
Gil Scott-Heron chronology
Free Will (1972) The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1974) Winter in America (1974)
Alternative cover
1988 reissue cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Amazon.com	(favorable)[2]
Robert Christgau	(B+)[3]
Ebony	(favorable)[4]
Los Angeles Daily News	(A)[5]
RapReviews	(9.5/10)[6]
Virgin Encyclopedia	[7]
The Washington Post	(favorable)[8]

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is a compilation album by American recording artist Gil Scott-Heron, released in 1974 on Flying Dutchman Records in the United States. It was also released in 1975 in Spain on Flying Dutchman's parent label, RCA, under the title La Revolucion No Podra Ser Televisada.^[9] The album takes its name from Scott-Heron's 1971 song of the same name.^[6] Originally issued in LP format,^[9] it contains recordings previously featured on Scott-Heron's first three albums for the Flying Dutchman label, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970), Pieces of a Man (1971), and Free Will (1972),^[2] which were produced by jazz producer Bob Thiele.^[1] The album's recordings feature musical elements of funk, jazz, and proto-rap.^[7]

Upon its release, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised charted on Billboard‍ '​s Top Jazz Albums, peaking at number 21 after five weeks on the chart. It has received favorable reviews from critics and music publications that praised the album's material and Scott-Heron's performance. Following digital remastering,^[10] the album was reissued on compact disc in 1988 with additional material and alternate artwork.^[9]

Reception

Upon its original release in 1974, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised charted on Billboard‍ '​s Top Jazz Albums chart, peaking at number 21 on October 12, 1974 after spending five weeks on the chart.^[11] The album initially received favorable criticism from publications, including The Village Voice and Ebony. Rock critic Robert Christgau of the former publication gave it a B+ rating and noted its "sign of growth" from Gil Scott-Heron's previous work.^[3] Ebony‍ '​s Phyl Garland called the album "mind-blowing", and wrote of Scott-Heron performance, stating "He does not merely posture and pacify, but presses one to consider the uncomfortable truths of contemporary blackness."^[4] Following the album's reissue, it received positive reviews from publications such as The Washington Post and Los Angeles Daily News, which gave it an A rating.^[5][8] A columnist for the Daily News commented on the album material's significance to hip hop, stating "the roots of rap run deep through this superb retrospective".^[12] In his book To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic (2007), William Jelani Cobb discussed the album and its title track's relation to the emergence of the hip hop movement in New York City during the 1970s, stating:

While The Last Poets and This Is Madness pre-dated the beginnings of hip hop, Gil Scott-Heron's 1974 album The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was released as the art form took its first breaths of South Bronx air. Primarily a jazz album, Revolution‍ '​s claim to the hip hop pantheon was anchored in a title track that found Scott-Heron delivering verse over a hypnotic, funk-indebted bassline—an approach that was so distinct at that point as to warrant classic status.^[13]

—William J. Cobb

In the Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2002), writer Colin Larkin gave The Revolution Will Not Be Televised five stars and commended Scott-Heron's anger and passion in his spoken-word performance of songs such as "No Knock" and the title track.^[7] The album received a rating of 9.5/10 from RapReviews and five stars from Allmusic.^[1][6] Allmusic's Alex Henderson called Scott-Heron's music on The Revolution Will Not Be Televised "innovative R&B and spoken poetry that contains jazz influences", and recommended the album for listeners that are "exploring his artistry for the first time".^[1]

Track listing

Original LP

^{1988 compact disc reissue bonus tracks.[10]}

Personnel

Chart history

Billboard Music Charts (North America) – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

• 1974: Top Jazz Albums – #21 (5 weeks)^[11]

Release history

Information regarding the release history of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is adapted from Discogs.^[9]

Sample use

The information regarding sampling of songs from The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is adapted from TheBreaks.com.^[14]

Notes

References

External links

• The Revolution Will Not Be Televised at Discogs