Saturday, November 7, 2009

Gil Scott-HERON – Real Eyes 1980


Gil Scott-HERON – Real Eyes 1980

Jazz

In 1980, Gil Scott-Heron had a nice opportunity to promote his Real Eyes album when he became the opening act on Stevie Wonder's Hotter Than July tour. On his own, Scott-Heron usually played small clubs, but opening for Wonder gave him the chance to perform in front of thousands of Wonder fans in major stadiums and sports arenas. Many of Wonder's white fans seemed to be unfamiliar with Scott-Heron (who had never had a major pop hit), while a lot of Wonder's black fans at least knew him for "The Bottle" and "Angel Dust" even if they hadn't bought a lot of his albums. Opening for all those Wonder fans certainly didn't hurt Scott-Heron's career, but it didn't make him a superstar either. While it's possible that some Wonder fans enjoyed Scott-Heron's opening sets enough to go out and purchase Real Eyes, most of the people who acquired this LP were already confirmed Scott-Heron fans. Unfortunately, Real Eyes lacked a hit single, although the material is excellent nonetheless. As usual, Scott-Heron has a lot of sociopolitical things on his mind — "The Train From Washington" concludes that the working class can't depend on the U.S. government for anything, while "Not Needed" angrily points the finger at companies who consider longtime employees expendable. And the album's less sociopolitical songs are equally memorable. "Your Daddy Loves You" is a touching ode to Scott-Heron's daughter Gia Louise (who was only a child in 1980), and the jazz-oriented "A Legend in His Own Mind" is a humorous, clever put-down of a wannabe "Casanova" who isn't nearly the ladies' man he brags about being. Scott-Heron's love of jazz serves him well on "A Legend in His Own Mind" and the smoky "Combinations," but make no mistake: Real Eyes is an R&B album
more than anything
By Alex Henderson. AMG.
**
Bass- Robert Gordon
Drums- Kenny Powell
Guitar- Ed Brady
Keyboards, Synthesizer, Harmonica- Glen Turner
Percussion- Ethan Ivy
Saxophone [Tenor], Flute [All Solos]- Carl Cornwell
Saxophone, Flute- Vernon James
Trumpet- Kenny Sheffield
**
A1.  The Train From Washington 4:48
     Saxophone [Alto] - Stemsy Hunter
     Trumpet - Harry Kim
A2.  Not Needed 3:57
A3.  Waiting For The Axe To Fall 4:48
A4.  Combinations 3:41
     Bass - Danny Bowens
     Drums - Reggie Brisbane
     Piano - Brian Jackson

B1.  A Legend In His Own Mind 3:41
     Saxophone [Alto] - Stemsy Hunter
     Trumpet - Harry Kim
B2.  You Could Be My Brother 6:23
B3.  The Klan 4:50
B4.  Your Daddy Loves You (For Gia Louise) 3:17
**
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