''The Belle Album'' is the 12th studio album by

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

musician Al Green. It is his first album recorded without longtime producer Willie Mitchell, owner of Green's former label,

Hi Records Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent partne ...

. With Mitchell and his label Green also abandoned the famed

Hi Rhythm Section The Hi Rhythm Section was the house band for hit soul albums by several artists, including Al Green and Ann Peebles, on Willie Mitchell's Hi Records label in the 1970s. The band included the three Hodges brothers, organist Charles Hodges, bassis ...

, which had previously played a large part in defining Green's distinctive musical style. This also marks the first instance in which Green plays

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

on his records. ''The Belle Album'' is one of the last in a string of

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

recordings made by Green; he had recently converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and had been ordained as a pastor, and thereafter he began creating

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

records exclusively.

Critical reception

Reviewing the album for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', Robert Christgau wrote in January 1978: The following month,

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

reviewed the album in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''. "In rock & roll, nothing seems easier or more obvious than a good beat, but nothing is more elusive", Marcus wrote. "We may someday look back on ''The Belle Album'' as Al Green's best — it's too soon to know; the man has a lifetime ahead of him — and if we do, the beat will be the reason. Whether or not the seemingly effortless religious conviction of the songs Green has written for this record lasts as long as he does, the beat will never wear out."Marcus, Greil (February 23, 1978)
Review: ''The Belle Album''
''

''. Retrieved on 2011-01-03. In 1989, '' Spin'' ranked ''The Belle Album'' as the 16th greatest record of all time.Staff (April 1989).
The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time
. '' Spin'': 48. In 1998, ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

'' included ''The Belle Album'' in their list of "100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)", where the staff described it as " pivotal record for Green, launched from somewhere between

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

and

Valhalla In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...

", that fused pop sensibilities with "

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

fire" and which provided "the last gasp of soul passion before the adolescent cool of the post-

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

years suffocated the US." They felt that even for 1977's recording standards, the album "sounded like a

field recording Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It also applies to sound recordings like electromagnetic fields or vibra ...

, especially with Green playing his own lead guitar. But it had real down home power."

Track listing

All songs written by Al Green, Fred Jordan and Reuben Fairfax, Jr.

Side one

#"Belle" – 4:50 #"Loving You" – 3:32 #"Feels Like Summer" – 3:42 #"Georgia Boy" – 7:01

Side two

#"I Feel Good" – 5:20 #"All N All" – 3:39 #"Chariots of Fire" – 3:50 #"Dream" – 7:33

Personnel

* Al Green –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, acoustic and

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Reuben Fairfax, Jr. –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, bell lyre * James Bass – electric guitar * Margaret Foxworth,

Linda Jones Linda Jones (December 14, 1944 – March 14, 1972) was an American soul singer with a strong gospel-influenced style who had the 1967 top 10 R&B hit single, "Hypnotized". Biography Jones was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States. She starte ...

, Harvey Jones –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Purvis Leon Thomas – clavinet,

Fender Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

* Johnny Brown –

acoustic piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, Fender Rhodes piano *Fred Jordan – Fender Rhodes piano, Roland String Ensemble, Polyphonic Orchestration,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, flugelhorn * John Toney – drums, Syndrum *Rob Payne – Syndrum * Ardis Hardin – drums * Buddy Jarrett –

alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B ten ...

* Darryl Neely – trumpet, flugelhorn * Ron Echols –

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

and

baritone sax The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

References

External links

*
The Belle Album
' at AcclaimedMusic *
The Belle Album
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belle Album Belle Album, The Belle Album, The Hi Records albums