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17th Street
Must Be Something
The Bottle Album: It’s Your World (1976) |
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The year was 1976. America was reveling in its bicentennial celebration. I was five, and don’t remember a thing. But my pop culture-filtered nostalgia imagines 1976 as the precipice between free love optimism and cocaine-fueled excess.
It’s Your World — a (mostly) live double-LP credited to Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson — was recorded just a couple of days before the July 4th holiday. While America at large was patting itself on the back, Gil was giving voice to those Americans who felt the country wasn’t living up to the Declaration of Independence’s key phrase, “All men are created equal.”
Gil Scott-Heron is so closely associated with his politics that it’s easy to forget the musicality apparent in his songs. Though Gil penned many of his own tunes, Brian Jackson contributed many of the duo’s finest compositions, and was the primary keys player.
“17th Street” is a lyrically-atypical song from Gil, shedding polemics in favor of getting down. But even his “party” songs include a hint of danger:
I come from 17th Street and that’s on the other side of town,
an’ if you see me wit’ my brothers
don’cha dare go no further
you know we gonna get down, down, down.
“Must Be Something” was a track I slept on until I started prepping for this post. But as I listened closer to the tight harmonies and Brian’s classy electric piano solo, I was won over by its charms.
The final selected track is “The Bottle,” which is among Gil and Brian’s best-known songs, and one of the most harrowing depictions of addiction ever committed to wax. The live version ups the tempo considerably, and provides a showcase for the three percussionists Gil and Brian brought along on tour. Brian proves he’s got fingers of fury, keeping up with the galloping rhythm via some truly dexterous flute work.
After a 16-year hiatus (which, sadly, included a couple of drug-related stints in prison), Gil recently released a new record, I’m New Here. Though I’ve only heard a bit of it, “New York Is Killing Me” proves Gil hasn’t lost much over the years. Check it out.