Gil Scott-Heron – Free Will (LP)

Limited vinyl LP reissue of Gil Scott-Heron‘s 1972 album. The album is special as one side consists of songs – all but one written with Brian Jackson – and the flipside is of poetry. Both forms showcase the political and the personal, in a way where even the time-specific lyrics transcend their era. Gil and Brian are backed an all-star band consisting of Bernard Purdie, Gerry Jemmott, Hubert Laws and David Spinozza. These help bring out the pathos in the achingly sad ‘Did You Hear What They Say’ – one of Gil’s finest pieces of writing.