Customer Reviews

It's Your World

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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In his hey day Gil Scott Heron was not merely an entertainer, he was a social institution and attending his shows were a gathering that transcended merely going to a club... as if his street poetry and political diatribes weren't enough, he had some of the funkiest and Jazziest rhythm sections on the planet... (often fronting them wearing a jean jacket, blue jeans, an unkept beared and afro and sitting at that old Fender Rhodes.) - - During his show, it was almost like attending some kind of mystical state of the union... he'd hip you to the world (as you definitely wouldn't hear it on the 6:00 news) yet at the same time, he made it clear that you were attending a party... and at the helm was his midnight band.

This CD, in my opinion, represents Gil at his peek. The only greater chance you'll ever get to catch his band in action at such full form is his concert video "Black Wax" (highly recommended) - - The tunes on this album are very '70s... mixing the funky fusiony Jazz of that time with great rhythms, great story telling, and some deep messages. It is the type of listen that is best heard with the lights turned out, plenty of room to tap your feet and move your body, and your imagination at its peek... and never does the CD experience any lulls... by the time it is finished, you will feel emotionally exhausted, also as if you've been on a long journey.

Recorded during the Bicentenial at a club and a few in studio (though you wouldn't know it unless you read the liner notes), the line up features Brian Jackson, Danny Bowens, Victor Brown, Bilal Sunni-Ali, Barnett Williams, Tony Duncanson, Reggie Brisbane and Delbert Taylor. Nice CD booklet with lyrics !

There were two Gil Scott Heron treasures missing from my collection of CD's. "It's Your World" and "Bridges." Now if TVT can release "Bridges", my collection would be complete. I was lucky enough to have found "Reflections" and "Moving Target" when I visited London six years ago. "It's Your World " is a great combination of live and studio recordings that are a pure delite to listen too. No one writes lyrics like Gil Scott Heron. "New York City" and "Possem Slim" are polished jewels. I have heard about 6 different live versions of "The Bottle," but this one is my favorite. If your body has any rhythm in it, the percussions in this song will find it. I hope that we hear new recordings from Gil in the near future. The music industry needs high quality artists like him. This brother helped to shape my appreciation for artist like Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker. I discovered Jazz through Gil Scott Heron - and for that, I am truly grateful. It is great to hear this music again. Please release "Bridges" next!!!!!!

Finally, Gil Scott-Heron's live album "It's Your World", is available on CD. I've gotten tired of listening to the LP version. The quality of albums which we love don't last forever. We no longer have to worry about the snap crackle and pop produced by vinyl albums. We can cherish this albums quality always on CD. This album was available on CD for a short time through BMG music as far as I know. When ever I tried to order a copy, it was always on backorder. Hopefully, it will be here forever through TVT Music. This is probably one of my favorite albums of all time. Gil Scott-heron, Brian Jackson, and the Midnight Band display pure musical talent here. You have to listen for yourself to believe. I wish I had some other work in mind to compare this album with, but it's hard to compare things when they are in a class of their own. This album is truly in a class all by itself. There's no particular song which I like best on this CD. I recommend this CD to ears of all ages. This is one CD I will always have in my collection.

Peace to all.

Although Gil Scott-Heron has created several strong studio albums, his best being The First Minute of a New Day, and one of the most influential songs in music with "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", it's on the It's Your World album where the artist peaked in all aspects of the game. Divided equally between stellar studio tracks and killer performances from a live show in Boston, this is Gil Scott-Heron and the Midnight Band at their very best.

The album starts off with the soulful "It's Your World", which is carried by its snappy horn lines and a very catchy chorus. "Possum Slim" is a very funky tune featuring a memorable keyboard riff ala Stevie Wonder and a killer sax solo from Bilal Sunni-Ali. "New York City" is Scott-Heron's tribute to the city itself, featuring a smooth jazz arrangement which unexpectedly changes to salsa for a brief period before returning to its original theme. Then the live tracks begin and they're all fantastic. "17th Street" features great vocals from Scott-Heron and melodic flute playing throughout from Brian Jackson. "Trane", whose music was written by Alice Coltrane, features a great solo from Sunni-Ali as well as a great percussion workout near its close. "Must Be Something", with Sunni-Ali's excellent sax work, is much jazzier than the original. "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", featuring an extended melodic piano solo from Jackson and Victor Brown's accompanying vocals, make this a much stronger version than the original. "Bicentennial Blues" is arguably Scott-Heron's best spoken word performance. Using both words of the title as an analogy throughout the piece, it is an intelligent and accurate portrayal of the political corruptness of the 1970's which saw the gap between the rich and poor continuing to widen, something which is still very real today. The ultimate live version of "The Bottle" follows and features an extended solo from the rhythm section with Scott-Heron improvising throughout. "Sharing" is a great ballad with soaring emotional vocals from Brown that brings the album to a close. All told, Gil Scott-Heron and the Midnight Band are at the top of their game on It's Your World. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderful release from the magnificent Gil Scott Heron, Brian Jackson collaboration. These guys have created a new level of excellence in the soul/funk/jazz genre that is hard to surpass. I love the live version of The Bottle, it gives so much more grunt than the studio version. 17th Street live makes you wanna holler and clap your hands, even when driving, so it can be dangerous. Timeless - all rappers, you owe these guys!

wow, how can you describe the output of Gil and Brian in a few words??? Of all the releases, this one is the strongest and timeless in my opinion, as well as several others by Gil and Brian. This is solid soul/funk/jazz/rock!!! This one features new studio tunes as well as a few live renditions of classic material including a 12 minute version of Home is where the hatred is. A lot of these two artist's work feature social and political statements of the time, this album only features a few songs as commentaries but the music just smokes, man, can they play!!!! Make sure you check this one out!!! Then try to find Bridges, another timeless album!!! Enjoy

First released as a two lp set, this recording contains one studio recorded side and three live recorded sides. Recorded when he seem to have his demons in control. It offers vivid documentation of how good Gil and his band really were. The performance of "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" is worth the price alone. I suggest you play this cd loudly it will have you dancing while at the same time feeding your intellect. No matter if you agree with the politics or not there is no point in trying to denying his talent.

Gil Scott Heron's studio albums range from good to excellent. His soul-funk-jazz brand of proto-rap was quite edgey in the early 70s, and his use of monsters like Bernard Purdie and Ron Carter gave this music an amazing, rythmic contour--listening to jazz musicans play rock is always a unique experiance, becauce their grasp of rhythm and harmonics is so much more wide ranging than pure rock or funk session cats.

Good as Pieces Of A Man, for instance, is, the live It's Our World is where this music really catches fire. He has shifted the emphasis from soul and jazz to a slick, round funk, and speeds up the tempos of these tunes considerably. if the studio work is a little brittle, it is now crunchy. It is like eating a gooey Cracker Jack as opposed to a piece of popcorn.

The back up vocals also turn his poetry into a much richer musical brew. He sounds like a singer here, not a poet singing his work.

Take "Home Is Where The Hatred Is." It is twice as fast as in the studio. Ron Carter has been replaced by a more flexible, aggressive funk bassist, and the band takes long solos. Wbere in the studio this piece sounds like a well-crafted jazz-funk prototype, here, it is reflexive, lived in, as if the written score has now become a wonderfully fluid musical languge, flowing without forethought. These guys must have played and played and played this stuff, until performing it became instinct.

This process is a hell of a lot more fun to hear than it is to read about, so comparing the live and studio material is as fufilling to the ears as it is instructive.

Now, true, some of Heron's asides sound painfully dated-"stick man, give me some rhytmm on tambalies.......' but even this gives you a feel for the 70s street mileu Heron was trying to create.

Whatever. Its Your World contains the best take on Heron's early work, and on its own merits, this is one live album that you have to own, even if you know the studio catalouge in and out.

His 1978 Album, 'Secrets' is far and away his best commerical LP. He stays real, but gets so funky that you can't sit still. 'Three miles down,' a song that shoots right at the Taft-Hartly Act still rings in my head. 'Madison Ave' is a another song that I have sung to my kids to explain how advertising jingles effect us all. As Gil said, 'They can sell sand to man living a desert. They can tuna to the chicken of the sea...'

Release Secrets. It's overdue.

Wow, a Gil Scott-Heron album I've never seen before. And I worked in music retail for 20 years. What a pleasant shock! I'm sure this is a great release and I will put this on my next "buy list" but I still notice that the great "Secrets" album from the late 70s has still not been released on CD. Please please please put this one out again!