Album Review:Gil Scott Heron – I’m New Here
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http://planetill.com/2010/02/album-reviewgil-scott-heron-im-new-here/
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Album Review:Gil Scott Heron – I’m New Here
By shelz.
Gil Scott Heron was the coolest of the 70’s revolutionary iconoclasts. His pride and disdain for the powers that be resonated through a generation of thoughtful listeners who were ready for change. Very little was taboo as he railed against a society he believed was intent on castrating the black community’s intellect and forward progress. Then he slipped into the abyss, absorbed by many of the horrific constructs he once rallied against. That was almost 20 years ago.
However, an unexpected yet welcome project from Heron with XL Records head, Richard Russell is upon us. If you were wanting I’m New Here to pick up in the brash and unapologetic lane of black rage Heron was traveling in when he became the victim of a hard, fast life you will be disappointed though.
I’m New Here is a study in redemption. It’s a slow, gloomy ride to hell and back narrated in first person by the traveler. Heron bookends the scattered collection of original spoken word, cover songs and snippets of conversations with childhood reflections set to a loop of the atmospheric intro of Kanye’s “Flashing Lights.” It almost sounds like he is absolving his elders of any responsibility for his missteps, the drug addiction and multiple incarcerations. Heron accepts his fate, he accepts his liability and he does so with unadulterated candor. You may not like this album, but you have to respect it.
The covers are drawn from numerous genres and time frames. However, they all fall in place within the story Heron is telling. Robert Johnson’s “Me and The Devil” is a murky electro blues track filled with Heron’s powerful but eroded voice. The song is painful in its chronicling of a rock bottom so sinister that Satan had to be pulling the strings. Then in an odd flip, Heron moves onto Smog’s “I’m New Here.” The title track tackles the elusive second chance and provides a line of optimism that was missing from the previous track.
Come visit us at Planet Ill to read the rest: http://planetill.com/2010/02/album-reviewgil-scott-heron-im-new-here/