Eleven-time Grammy Award-winning soul icon and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Al Green has released a new four-song EP called To Love Somebody via Fat Possum Records. Green stamps his signature stylings on the Bee Gees’ 1967 hit “To Love Somebody,” an unreleased, alternate version of his 2023 acclaimed single “Perfect Day,” featuring British singer/songwriter RAYE, The Velvet Underground’s “I Found A Reason,” and his previously released rendition of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” This digital EP is available everywhere.
“When Fat Possum came to my studio and played me ‘To Love Somebody’ and ‘I Found A Reason,’ I felt this instant connection and harmonies immediately filled me,” says Green. “The music spoke to me, so we immediately went to work.”
Produced by Matthew Johnson, Al Green once again went into the studio with the Hi Rhythm Section: Reverend Charles Hodges [organ]; Leroy Hodges [bass]; Archie “Hubbie” Turner [piano]; Will Sexton [guitar]; Steve Potts [drums] - from Booker T & The MG's. among others, and includes string section arrangements from Stax legend Lester Snell, bringing Al Green’s distinctive touch and feel to each song.
Lou Reed once stated: “I wanted to sound like somebody too! Al Green. I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to humiliate myself by even trying to do that in public. I wanted to sound like Al.” Now, Al Green lends his trademark soulful phrasing to The Velvet Underground’s ‘I Found A Reason’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day,’ which the New York Times described as “a sumptuous reimagining of Lou Reed’s 1972 classic.”
In 2024, Al Green released his rendition of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts”, to which R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe commented, “Speaking on behalf of the entire band — we could not be more honored, more flattered, more humbled...this is an epic moment for us.”
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