LA, Sept 22: On the eve of the release of Aretha Franklin's Sept. 16 Arista set ("So Damn Happy") comes word that another soul legend is prepping a new fall album. "I Can't Stop" finds Al Green repeating history. He has again teamed with legendary production mate Willie Mitchell, and the album is being recorded at the pair's old stomping grounds, Memphis' Royal Studio. Green is even recording with the same mic he used in the '70s.
The album also marks a couple of firsts. Green is now signed to Blue Note. And his work in progress has the jazz-oriented label stretching into R&B. "I Can't Stop" is due Nov. 18. Its impending debut pushes the release of the four-CD EMI package "Al Green: The Immortal Soul of ..." to early 2004.
Other R&B artists releasing new albums include the Manhattans ("Even Now," Love Lee Records/A.R.E. Distribution), Eloise Laws ("Secrets," Scepterstein Records), Alexander O'Neal ("Saga of a Married Man," Eagle Records, Sept. 23), Gerald Levert ("A Stroke of Genius," Elektra, Oct. 28) and Ron Isley (an album of Burt Bacharach classics, DreamWorks, Nov. 11).
Bureau Report