Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters auf 3 CDs

In seiner Musik vereinen sich Elemente aus Funk, Jazz , Soul und lateinamerikanischer Musik. Er begründete Spoken Word und gilt daher als einer der wichtigsten Wegbereiter der Hip-Hop- und Rap-Musik. Seine Texte sind von politischen oder sozialen Inhalten geprägt. Gil Scott-Heron gilt zu Recht als mit einflussreichster Musiker in der Historie schwarzer Musik der vergangenen 40 Jahre. Bob Thiele (Flying Dutchman) der schon mit Louis Armstrong oder John Coltrane gearbeitet hatte, ermöglichte ihm im Jahre 1970, sein erstes Album aufzunehmen, auf dem er sozialkritische Texte aus seinem Gedichtband rezitierte. Er kombinierte sie mit Conga-Rhythmen und weiteren Percussion-Elementen. Für den musikalischen Background waren renommierte Jazz-Größen wie Ron Carter (Bass), Eddie Knowles und Charlie Saunders (Percussion) zuständig. Das Debüt enthielt einen von Scott-Herons bis heute prägensten Song, das medien- und kapitalismuskritische Lied ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised‘. 1971 folgte ‘Pieces Of A Man’, auf dem er sich bei einigen Tracks mehr an geradlinigen, souligen Songstrukturen orientierte. Im darauf folgenden Jahr veröffentlichte er ‘Free Will‘, sein abschließendes Album für Flying Dutchman, das er danach im Streit verließ. Das wertig aufgemachte 3CD-Set im Digipak + Slipcase enthält alle Tracks die GSH für Flying Dutchman in den Jahren 1970 – ’71 aufgenommen hat. Darunter Klassiker wie ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised‘, ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is‘, ‘Lady Day And John Coltrane’, ‘Whitey On The Moon’ oder ‘Free Will’. Die 51 Songs stammen von den Original Master Tapes und sind damit den bisherigen Reissues weit überlegen. Als Bonusmaterial gibt es eine alternative Version des 3. Albums ‘Free Will‘ sowie den Track ‘Artificialness‘ den er gemeinsam mit Drum-Session-Legend Bernhard Purdie eingespielt hat. Es gibt umfangreichste Linernotes mit bislang nie veröffentlichten Interviewmaterial (auch mit Brian Jackson) die mit vielen, seltenen Archiv-Fotos ergänzt wurden. Ein separates Booklet enthält weitere Linernotes von Dean Rudland, der dieses Projekt betreut hat.

Product Information

The three albums Gil Scott-Heron recorded for Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman label are some of the most important in the history of black music. They show a multi-talented artist reaching maturity with his first recorded efforts. ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ transcended its place as an album track to become an aphorism, a slogan on a T-shirt, omnipresent shorthand for alternative culture. Over the years these recordings have been treated in a haphazard way, reissued in cheaply packaged collections that used edited versions of some of the most important tracks. “The Revolution Begins” gathers together every piece of music released by Gil on Flying Dutchman, including a track recorded with Bernard “Pretty” Purdie which has never been previously reissued. We have gone back to the original master tapes, bringing you sound that’s better than you’ll ever have heard and new clarity to Gil’s words and the musical performances. Access to those tapes has also enabled us to assemble an alternate version of Gil’s third album, “Free Will”.

Gil emerged in 1970 as the author of a novel, The Vulture, and a small book of poetry titled Small Talk at 125th and Lenox. Through a contact at his publishing company, he was introduced to producer Bob Thiele, who couldn’t afford to make an album of music, but agreed to make a spoken word record. Titled after his book of poems, and recorded with just Gil and three percussionists, the album opened with the coruscating ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’. Still enthralling over 40 years on, it’s often forgotten how good this version is in comparison to the recording Gil made with a full band for his second album. His performance is perfectly judged, bringing emphasis where it was needed, without ever resorting to histrionics. By the time he reaches the final “The revolution will be no rerun, brothers, the revolution will be live”, the listener is hooked as surely as if he was watching a weekly soap opera.

The rest of the album covered topics as diverse as the harsh conditions in the housing projects, music and a subway poster for a horror movie. Most of the work still stands up today, with Gil always retaining a sense of humour and humanity, however angry he is. “Small Talk at 125th and Lenox” did well enough for Thiele to commission a follow-up, to be recorded with a full band. Gil had been working up a number of songs with Brian Jackson, a fellow student at Lincoln University. It was Jackson who lifted Gil’s music out of the rudimentary – something Gil was always keen to point out: “Brian was integral.”

“Pieces Of A Man” is an astounding album. Recorded with a band of top session musicians, with Jacksonon piano, there isn’t a bad track. The title track is a beautiful and moving tale of the destruction of a man’s worth told from the viewpoint of his son, while ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ captures the hellish nature of drug addiction and the hypocrisy of those who criticise rather than help addicts. ‘Lady Day and John Coltrane’ is not just a tribute to the titular heroes but to the uplifting power of music itself.

The album sold well enough and Esther Phillips’ cover of ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ brought further attention to Gil. Thiele was keen to get a third album together and the resultant “Free Will” was Gil’s most political yet. The wondrous ‘Did You Hear What They Said?’ skewers the Vietnam War more effectively than any thousand-word polemic. The title track takes aim at those who talk about themselves rather than getting involved in helping the community. The second side is a return to the spoken-word style of the first album and in ‘No Knock’ and ‘The King Alfred Plan’ gives us vibrant attacks on the Nixon administration. The album was the final release on the label. The alternate version contained here gives us a wonderful insight into Gil’s way of working.

At the time of their release, these albums did OK, but didn’t sell a whole lot of copies. Today they are the basis for the laudatory essays that appeared at the time of his 2011 comeback album “I’m New Here” and on his death a few months later. This 3CD set contains the best from a career that was full of great records.

By Dean Rudland

(acerecords. co. uk)

Rezensionen

,,Gil Scott-Heron (1.4.1949–27.5.2011) gehörte zu den einflussreichsten schwarzen Musikern der vergangenen 40 Jahre. In seiner Musik vereinten sich Elemente aus Soul, Funk, Jazz und lateinamerikanischer Musik. Neben klassisch-ausgereiftem Soulgesang bot er auch virtuosen Sprechgesang, was ihn nebenbei zu einem der wichtigsten Wegbereiter der HipHop- und Rapmusik gemacht hat. Scott-Herons Texte sind von politischen oder sozialen Inhalten geprägt.
Sein Gesamtwerk für dieses Label liegt nun in einem schön aufgemachten 3-CD-Set vor." (Good Times, Februar / März 2013)

,,Spoken Word Poetry: Der 2011 verstorbene Urvater des HipHop mit seinen besten Aufnahmen aus den Jahren 1970 bis 1972 ein einer Drei-CD-Box." (musikexpress, März 2013)