Gil Scott-Heron

Item: Small Talk at 125th and Lenox
Author: John Morrison

Small Talk at 125th and Lenox

(1970)

Reviewed by John Morrison

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify

Label Flying Dutchman / RCA RecordsOpus2001

jazz spoken word

Originally published at Opus

1968 - 75... Jimi Hendrix, Gwendolyn Brooks, Miles Davis, etc. These individuals and their work during this era (even though Hendrix passed in '70) continue to be an important part of the current black literary and musical landscape. Few artists of this time were able to change the way we approach both music and literature as much as poet/pianist/vocalist Gil Scott-Heron.

Small Talk at 125th and Lenox is a live recording of Heron's first album of the same name. This recording is special simply because it captures Gil doing what he does best: spouting sharp socio-political commentary and tearing white America a new asshole. Small Talk... is a very essential recording for Gil Scott-Heron fans who have ever wondered what classics such as "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and "Whitey On the Moon" sounded like before they were classics.

Everything on this disc predates Heron's later R&B/orchestral/soul works like "Winter in America" and "Ain't No Such Thing As A Superman" which brought him widespread popularity (he even appeared on Saturday Night Live mid-70s style).

So if you're a fan of the skillful, the educated, and the pissed off (e.g., Chuck D, The Dead Kennedys), find this CD and get a feel for the original.