Al Green and Gabrielle
Birmingham NIA Academy
By Ian Harvey

Fans were served up a feast of soul from both sides of the Atlantic as the legendary Al Green started his UK tour in Birmingham with Britain’s Gabrielle as special guest.

It was a concert that spanned the decades as well as the waters, as the Reverend Green reprised his 70s classics and brought us bang up to date with songs from his latest, critically-acclaimed album Lay It Down, which features collaborations with new hot guns John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae and Anthony Hamilton.

Bailey Rae, as Green helpfully told us, “is from Leeds… England”.

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Gabrielle was an inspired choice to open the concert, hers a sweet and familiar voice, although the reception she received was appreciative rather than wildly enthusiastic.

Two would-be Bridget Jones did manage to stand up and dance through her whole 45-minute set, and the biggest cheers were, of course, for Out Of Reach, the hypnotic Rise and her debut number one hit Dreams.

But songs from her later albums, including Always, show that if she’s been a stranger to the singles charts of late it’s not for the want of strong material.

Al Green himself was backed by a large band but came on like a mighty one-man soul revue, still able to hit those famed high notes - and with the crowd in the palm of his hand from the off as he dished out long-stemmed roses to his adoring fans.

At 62, Green is no ordinary reverend – his sermons from the pulpit of his Memphis church must be quite something – he’s got a groove and a smile all of his own.

The big hits were there of course. An audience singalong to Let’s Stay Together elicited the response: “Oh, you know it, huh!”, while Tired Of Being Alone, I’m Still In Love With You and L-O-V-E- (Love) were greeted like old friends.

The newer songs, including the smooth Lay It Down and Stay With Me (By The Sea) merged seamlessly into the set, while a run through of songs by Green’s own heroes, including The Temptations’ My Girl, Otis Redding’s I’ve Been Loving You Too Long and Sam Cooke’s Bring it On Home were like the ultimate soul jukebox.

Green left the stage in triumph after an uplifting Love and Happiness, two emotions which he effortlessly spread around the NIA.