This is the third album of the trilogy Scott-Heron made after parting company with musical collaborator for most of the 1970s, and the third in the Christmas present box set. It was also his last album for 12 years.
It opens with the jazz-fused Fast Lane, a fine song to start, followed by Washington DC, solid enough if not a classic. No Exit is more reggae influenced before the first alf concludes with Blue Collar, my favourite song on the album, soulful and powerful.
Explanations is a much more funky, upbeat number, and there's more than a hint of dub reggae about Ready Or Not, but neither are among Gil's more memorable works. The album concludes with the longest piece on the album, Black History / The Word, mostly spoken word poetry over a funky beat, which comes across as very earnest but not too interesting musically. perhaps a white, middle class English pensioner wasn't the target demographic here?
In all, this is a very listenable album, but Blue Collar apart, it lacks the strength of songs from its two predecessors, and is the weakest of the three albums in this collection. But there's nothing that's awful and still a lot to enjoy.
3* - Even a disappointing Gil Scott-Heron album is well worth a listen.
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