Gil Scott-Heron - 1974 – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Spanning 1970-1972, this superb collection takes us back to Gil Scott-Heron's early years, when he was working with jazz producer Bob Thiele - a man who had been in the studio with everyone from John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders to Coleman Hawkins.

But "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" isn't a jazz collection per se; it's a collection of innovative R&B and spoken poetry that contains jazz influences and finds Scott-Heron employing such jazz musicians as flutist Hubert Laws and bassist Ron Carter. Like the Last Poets, Scott-Heron has been described as "one of the first rappers" - and while he was hardly the first person to speak in rhyme to music, there are definitely parallels between angry sociopolitical poems like "Whitey on the Moon," "No Knock," and "Brother" and hip-hop commentary from the 1980s. Poetry, however, doesn't dominate this album - most of the selections illustrate Scott-Heron's excellence as a singer, including "Home Is Where the Hatred Is," "Did You Hear What They Said?," and the poignant "Save the Children."

One of the collection's less political tracks is "Lady Day and John Coltrane," an R&B classic that articulates how easily jazz can lift a person's spirits. "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" isn't the last word on Scott-Heron's artistry - he recorded many more treasures after leaving Flying Dutchman for Arista in 1975. But it's one of the collections to acquire if you're exploring his artistry for the first time.

Tracklist:
01. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
02. Sex Education – Ghetto Style
03. The Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues
04. No Knock
05. Lady Day And John Coltrane
06. Pieces Of A Man
07. Home Is Where The Hatred Is
08. Brother
09. Save The Children
10. Whitey On The Moon
11. Did You Hear What They Said
12. When You Are Who You Are
13. I Think I’ll Call It Morning
14. A Sign Of The Ages
15. Or Down You Fall
16. The Needle’s Eye
17. The Prisoner

Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
(192 kbps, front cover included)