This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
With its cut-and-paste layout, retro font and sepia-tone colour scheme, the cover of I Can’t Stop looks just like a classic Al Green album. Which is only fitting, since it sure sounds like one too.
That’s no accident — this disc marks a long-awaited reunion of Green and Willie Mitchell, the Hi Records producer and engineer of timeless Green hits like Let’s Stay Together and Take Me To The River. It even includes some of the musicians and background singers from those tracks. Admittedly, nothing on this dozen-track disc of secular soul and R&B reaches those lofty heights. But with their seductive blend of Memphis grooves, chicken-scratch guitars, punchy horns, rich background harmonies, burbling organ lines — and, most importantly, Green’s undiminished vocal prowess, complete with soaring falsetto — more than a few come pretty darn close. Nice to see Al back to his old self. Here’s hoping he and Mitchell stay together.
