If you want the definition of not just soul, but sweet soul music, look no further than Al Green. I can't even pick a favorite amongst the Hi Records recordings done with Willie Mitchell. If I was pressed to choose, I'd say Still In Love With You, Call Me, and Livin' For You. They actually sound like a continuation of one beautiful yet funky vibe.

This album could be my favorite, though. "Call Me" is a wonderful, kind of haunting song. But I think Your Love Is Like the Morning Sun personifies everything early 70s Al Green is about. It's like gospel, but without references to God; just love (unlike his later recordings, or the inspirational "Jesus is Waiting", on this album). It's simply mesmerizing. It gets inside you. And I love how the song ends with him creating verses based on previous titles ("I'm tired of being alone/I'm still in love with you/Let's stay together").

If you like Marvin Gaye, the Staples Singers, or perhaps Curtis Mayfield, buy this album. Sweet soul is not Lionel Richie or Ashford and Simpson or Peaches and Herb or Anita Baker or any of that crossover stuff. It's right here.

It's Hi Records. It's Willie Mitchell. It's Al Green. Thank you, sir, for years of listening pleasure.

Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, they were all residing in my cd collection when I bought this Al Green-cd on a trip to New York, a few years ago. I expected lots from it, but not that it would stand as my favourite soul-album as for today. Otis is grittier, Aretha creates more db's, marvin made superior records, but for me, they cannot make an impact such as Al Green. Nine beautiful arranged songs, dealing with such quintessential topics such as love, religion and sexuality. Nine achingly delicious chants by the true master of soft soul. I still can't believe my own exaltation when I play "Jesus is waiting" or "Here I am", or "Call Me" again. It's slick, smooth, cheesy, corny, mucky, call it what you want, but in the meantime it's also one of the most passionately felt records I ever heard: Green LIVES his songs. You want your heart broken? Let Al do it, and you'll be thankful.

Al Green doesn't just sing a song, he inhabits it. He can be pleading like in the title track or in the brilliant "You Ought To Be With Me" or forceful as in "Here I Am" & "Stand Up". Being from the south, he wasn't just influenced by gospel, but country music as well. His interpretations of the country standards "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Funny How Time Slips Away" are soulful and show his incredible range. The creme-de-la-creme of the album is the closing track "Jesus Is Waiting". Mr. Green is an ordained minister and part of what makes his music so interesting is his devotion to both God & sex. "Jesus Is Waiting" is a dirge that is sung with all the sexual urgency of any of his great love songs and is just an amazing song. You can't go wrong with any of Al Green's early to mid 70's albums, but if you had to choose one, Call Me should be your first choice.

This was perhaps Al Green's best album. Every song had hooks that would catch the most jaded of music listeners. I would rank this as one of the top 10 soul albums of all time. Al Green was in peak form here, before the infamous hot grits incident. A little bit of gospel, whole lotta soul and a bit of sweet gravy poured over the whole batch. Very tasty!

This album along with I'm Still In Love With You helped me get through a really lonely period in my life after i broke up with my girlfriend and after i moved somewhere new where i felt truly alone. There is something soothing and otherworldly about Al Green's amazing voice. Al Green simply has one of the most flawless, smooth, passionate, masterful, and impactful voices i've ever heard and is able to convey such a great variety of feelings and make all kinds of noises. Of course this voice is over some of the best horn arrangements and accompaniment ever. The whole album is flawlessly produced. There isn't a song on this album that i don't love, and they all have resonance with me emotionally. "Stand Up" is a powerful inspirational song that has really got to me, as well as "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Have You Been Making Out O.K." This album flows so well from song to song that you wouldn't even realize that some of the songs are covers as they sound decidedly Al Green. This album is one that my dad has owned since it came out and now i have my own copy and appreciate this music that is just as powerful now as when it was recorded.