Let’s Stay Together

𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 is a smooth, heartfelt soul album carried by Al Green’s unmistakable voice and understated arrangements. The title track alone is worth the listen — gentle, warm, and timeless. Throughout the album, Green balances tenderness and groove with effortless charm, supported by subtle instrumentation that leaves room for his vocals to shine. While the overall pace is relaxed and some songs blend into each other, the emotional honesty and musical elegance make this a deeply rewarding listen. A classic that radiates soul without needing to shout.

Great album for breakfast.

I don't particularly care for his voice, the album cover is pretty bad, and the instrumentals feel a little cut-and-paste, but the songwriting is good and the record isn't too long.

3.0/5.0: Good

didnt know what to expect going in and i was surprised to have heard a few songs. the album was short and sweet

Green's voice is a miracle of tension: hesitating but explosive, terrified but audacious, quiet but at full throttle. Every word is annunciated w/ power as well as timidity, shattering its vicinity b/c it took everything to overcome his shyness, meekness, apprehensiveness: 'It's like burnin' fire, oh shut up in my bones.' This is displayed most magnificently on the six-minute + 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,' a sensational incarnation of fear and focus, a mournful but muscular will to live. I love the strings and horns, the drums are tight and palpable, but it's Green's vocals that have become something of a mythical achievement in the canon of soul music. Only Otis likewise knew the magic of holding back in order to find one's grit and fortitude.

Yes

Better than Coldplay

A classic to be sure....

good soul album

The most soulful soul that emanated from any soul, even if that soul was actually a brutally violent and abusive one. Weird how that works.

This album starts of so strong. The title track is such a great song. But you can see why it was the only hit off the album, the rest of the album is just okay.

Listened to this a few times and liked it. Pretty chill and would listen again. 4/5

Okay, an album from Al Green makes sense on a list like this, where you're trying to include as many cornerstones of popular music as possible. Given the man's legendary status as a soul singer, you'd feel obligated to include at least one work from him.

To the list's credit, Let's Stay Together is a solid outing where the songs are well-played by the backing band as Al effortlessly embellishes and reaches those falsetto notes almost effortlessly. A few tracks like the title track, "So You're Leaving" and "I've Never Found a Girl (Who Loves Me Like You Do)" are certifiable bangers out of the gate with the horn accompaniments.

That said, I can't say I'm overly wowed by this album. It's a decent at times great listen, but some songs are purposefully slowed down to illicit a more romantic feeling where the energy is dialed back such as on "What is This Feeling" and the cover of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", hampering the overall pace.

I was admittedly looking at what other soul albums were put out in 1972. When you got the likes of Bill Withers's Still Bill, Stevie Wonder's Talking Book and Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack, that's some stiff competition that I can't say this album holds a candle to in overall quality. Not to mention, Al himself would put out another album that year with I'm Still in Love With You, and maybe that's the album that could've been included on this list. Perhaps this album will grow on me over time, and it's hard to get that sense within a day's listening.

I will give the list the benefit of the doubt here; Let's Stay Together is a solid and respectable choice to include from one of soul's greatest artists. Even if my bar has been set rather high for the genre, this album was still a delight.

Great voice and smooth instrumentals. Some big hits too

This is very good music... for someone else's taste.

That is a smooth as silk 5.

I only knew the title track going into this one – obviously, we’ve heard “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”, but I didn’t realize Al Green ever did a cover of it. Past those two tracks, the other 7 were all mysteries to me, and my hope going in was that they would all be good enough to come together coherently and make a really strong album.

It succeeded and more – just banger after banger after banger throughout this one, in 34 minutes of the smoothest soul music I’ve ever heard. I’ve only ever really known Al Green for “Let’s Stay Together”, but the vocal range and delivery exceeded what I was expecting. I knew he had a damn good voice, but he was channeling guys like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder & Ray Charles without a hitch, while still sounding totally unique to all 3 of them. His voice is the instrument that really carries the emotional weight of this album, and the overall church-y vibe to the whole thing gives it an intimacy that’s hard to replicate.

If I had to knock the album anywhere, it’s that a few songs do sort of stagnate, and his vocals alone, as good as they are, can’t always carry some of these tracks to the finish line without my ears noticing a bit of repetition or padding. With that said, when this album manages to find that pure state of zen, it is *perfectly* executed. “Old Time Lovin’” & “I've Never Found a Girl (Who Loves Me Like You Do)” are great tracks that do a great job of setting the tone leading up to it, but his version of “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” is the shining example that hits the real emotional climax of the album for me. When it gets to that point, and the emotions simply take over, with his instincts going into auto-pilot, it’s a harmony felt by both Al & the listener, and it’s one of those indescribable things that just can’t be captured in words.

I loved it, plain & simple – it’s the type of soul music I’ve been waiting to get from the generator for a while, and I can only hope we get more stuff like this sooner than later. Just an extremely easy 5 for my tastes.

When an album starts with one of the greatest songs of all time, the rest is bound to feel like a let down. Which is true of this album, but after listening to it several times, the rest is also very good.

Fun and enjoyable soul. I had a good time listening to it.

Let's Stay Together is okay at best. It is just another album in the sea of 60s/70s soul albums and while it does sound good in a lot of places, it never really changes things up. I do think that Al's voice was definitely good but not much that i haven't heard in other voices of this kind of music like Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder. The few shake-ups in the music were ones i really did appreciate because the rest of the album just blended together so hard that i started zoning out during the album which made me forget a lot of it. This album isn't bad, it's just pretty samey and forgettable and you can do quite a bit better with this kind of music.
Best Song: Judy
Worst Song: It Ain't No Fun To Me

Gotta agree that the title track is so good, the rest doesn't hit as hard as it could. Big up the Reverend.