Truth N' Time

The Belle Album	Al Green Is Love	Have a Good Time	Livin' for You	Full of Fire
Green Is Blues	Al Green Explores Your Mind	Gets Next to You	Soul Survivor	I'm Still in Love with You

Al's Short and Audacious Transitional Album: From Secular to Spiritual in 26 minutes!
Despite what you may have read at All Music Guide, about this album being a kind of listless holding pattern, I'm happy to report after repeated listenings, that Al was just as much full of fire on "Truth N' Time" as he was on his more commercially successful mid and late 1970's albums. The rhythm and horn sections of Al's backing band are as tight, funky and grooving as the best of his previous Hi Records material. "Truth N Time" has the feel of a Memphis house party full of gospel, soul and some infectious disco ("Lo and Behold") thrown in for good measure (hey, it was the late 70's don't forget!). This is not the metallic in your face disco heard in the clubs but rather Al embraces the fairly new (in 1978) disco style and turns it into a sensuous, soulful, and steamy mix. Green's voice is in fine form and particularly check out his falsetto runs. "Wait Here" starts with a familiar Sly Stone-influenced rhythm riff and builds into a bluesy groove. No less than six keyboard players add rich texture to these 8 songs. Standout covers are his audacious renditions of "To Sir With Love" and "I Say A Little Prayer"; two songs traditionally covered by women. Al's gender bending and sinuous vocalizations on "To Sir With Love" reveal a heartfelt tribute to his "two" fathers, and his jumpy falsetto interpretation of the Bacharach-David standard "I Say A Little Prayer", captures the anxious exuberance of that song and it is a pleasure to hear Green sing it with such verve and energy. Green's original tune, "Truth In Time" harkens back to his charting material of the early 70's with a propulsive soul rhythm, horns that bob and weave like a prize fighter and playfully intelligent lyrics to reflect on like "all we need is time." Time, as Al Green writes in the re-issue liner notes, for "a spiritual love for mankind and his creator". "King of All" gives hints at what would be Green's transition to all spiritual music. The intricacies of Green's religious philosophy are only nascent thoughts here on this concise album, but "King of All" reveals a definite Christian and Gospel oriented spiritualism. The album closes with another Green original composition, "Happy Days" that further reveals where Green was heading in his spiritual quest. It doesn't hurt that the song also harkens back to the exuberance of Sly Stone circa "Stand!" with it's funky rhythms percolating along. Green may have grown weary of singing purely secular songs by 1978, however, "Truth N' Time" is a rich musical experience that meets the high standards Green established for classy, gritty yet smooth soul that was Al's uniquely gifted musical contribution to popular music in the 1970's. This record is a bargain, so get it and get your 70's groove thing on y'all! 4 ½ Stars