456. Al Green, "Greatest Hits"

 

The world is a terrible place. There's a raging global pandemic, a thick-skulled autocrat desperately trying to claw back a job he doesn't want to do, and the Designated Hitter somehow just snuck into the National League without anyone really fighting it.  Luckily, this album exists.

This perfect 12" of sonic Valium actually produces a calming effect in all animals and humans on whom it has been tested.  From the time the needle drops on "Tired of Being Alone" to the incredible organ-fueled groove in "Love and Happiness" to the horn blast that kicks off "Let's Get Married," this album unloads one classic after another.  But, of course, it's really Al Green's voice that stars. It's an impossibly smooth croon/wail.  The man can absolutely bend his way around a note, maybe the best pure singer we'll see on this list (at least until we inevitably run into Otis Redding). If you haven't listened to it in a while, do yourself a favor and throw this on. It's like seeing an old friend.

The Rev. Green has led a tumultuous life, but the one incident that I will never forget is the fact that he had to undergo skin grafts and was hospitalized for weeks after Mary Woodson threw a pot of boiling grits on him and then killed herself.