the snail
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham
Gil Scott Heron
- Thread starter the snail
- Start date
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Hacienda71
Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
- Location
- Wilmslow, Cheshire
Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
One of the most important and brilliant black poets, musicians and novelists died yesterday. I just re-read his early novel The Vulture recently and it's still just as angry and direct as ever. He'll probably be best remembered for his music though, especially the series of albums he put out in the 1970s with Brian Jackson.
Here's some things to remember him by:
The original stripped down version of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1970)
Home is Where the Hatred Is (1971)
Winter in America (1974)
B-Movie (1981)
And on a happier note, the joyful Lady Day and John Coltrane
RIP, Gil.
Here's some things to remember him by:
The original stripped down version of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1970)
Home is Where the Hatred Is (1971)
Winter in America (1974)
B-Movie (1981)
And on a happier note, the joyful Lady Day and John Coltrane
RIP, Gil.
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
good shout... another legend slips off the mortal coil
I recall his preamble to Three Miles Down; a song about coal mining...
"Coal miners don't get much respect and I think they'd get more respect if everybody had to go and get their own coal."
Always on the button Gill (was it a hard or soft G?)
I recall his preamble to Three Miles Down; a song about coal mining...
"Coal miners don't get much respect and I think they'd get more respect if everybody had to go and get their own coal."
Always on the button Gill (was it a hard or soft G?)
Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
Hard G. Did you know his dad played for Celtic? True story... Giles 'Gil' Heron AKA The Black Arrow...
Monsieur Remings
Guru
- Location
- Yatton UK
Had a lot on recently but have just found this out on here. RIP Gill Scott.
Those who know what real hip-hop is will know that it was with artists like GS Heron, that the whole thing started.
Those who know what real hip-hop is will know that it was with artists like GS Heron, that the whole thing started.
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Gil knew how to tell it how it was. A great communicator. A sad loss.
I saw him at the Brixton Academy last autumn, and am now glad I made the effort to travel down to London for the concert. He was more subdued than when I last saw him in the 1980s, and his voice had gone a bit, but he still put on a memorable performance.
I was surprised to find that he was only 62 when he died as he looked and sounded a lot older when I saw him.
I think it was shameful the way America treated one of its greatest poets. He spent much of the last decade in prison because of his drug problems and was more or less abandoned by the music industry. If he had been a mainstream pop star, rather than a radical black poet, he would have been packed off to a private rehab clinic and then have been publicly rehabilitated on Oprah.
BTW, his final album "I'm new here" is well worth getting hold of. It contains some very poignant and reflective songs, which in an odd way are reminiscent of Johnny Cash's final albums.
I was surprised to find that he was only 62 when he died as he looked and sounded a lot older when I saw him.
I think it was shameful the way America treated one of its greatest poets. He spent much of the last decade in prison because of his drug problems and was more or less abandoned by the music industry. If he had been a mainstream pop star, rather than a radical black poet, he would have been packed off to a private rehab clinic and then have been publicly rehabilitated on Oprah.
BTW, his final album "I'm new here" is well worth getting hold of. It contains some very poignant and reflective songs, which in an odd way are reminiscent of Johnny Cash's final albums.
threebikesmcginty
Corn Fed Hick...
- Location
- ...on the slake
Cool guy - cool sound!
TwickenhamCyclist
Guest
So So sad - only 62 RIP
Ludwig
Hopeless romantic
- Location
- Lissingdown
Very sad. I remember when he did Johanesburg on The Old Grey Whistel Test which was absolutely superb and one of the best ever performances on the programme. I saw a documnetary that Gill did on Sky Arts which was fascinating.
brockers
Senior Member
- Location
- hollowed out volcano
Well the first thing i wanna say is 'Mandate, my ass'.
You, and Sly and the Family Stone were part of the soundtrack to my eighties. And you got me into that whole Michael Franti/HipHoprisy/Spearhead thing too.
RIP GS-H
You, and Sly and the Family Stone were part of the soundtrack to my eighties. And you got me into that whole Michael Franti/HipHoprisy/Spearhead thing too.
RIP GS-H
Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
I'm not sure. I seem to be the only person in the world who finds it all but unlistenable and close on being a piece of exploitation by the producer concerned. There are only really a couple of complete songs, the best of which is split in half to try to make the album sound 'complete', and the backing tracks seem just like that, rather random backing tracks. And he sounds gone. I mean out of it, finished. It is painful to listen to and not in a good way. Personally, I will have to wait a good few years before I can really listen to it and decide whether it has something like the broken greatness of Billie Holiday's last couple of albums, or is just broken.
Fnaar
Smutmaster General
- Location
- Thumberland
Used to see him gig a lot in the mid 1980s... some great gigs... was surprised when he got hooked, given his previous stance in drugs, but good memories from the gigs anyway. I also found his last album hard going, but will give it another go in time.
