"The man is so smooth, he'll slice your toast for you and put butter on it."- Dennis Franz on VH-1's "The List."

Granted, the pudgy TV cop/doughy butt model may not be the world's foremost soul music authority, but it's kinda hard to make an argument against the genius of Mr. Al Green. The Memphis native was one of the first soul singers to back away from the shouting style that was the rage at that point (see: James Brown, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett)and make hits that were smooth, sentimental and unabashedly sensual. Beginning with Tired Of Being Alone in the Early Seventies and ending with his conversion to gospel in 1977 or so, Al made a collection of classic soul albums, and none more classic than 1972's I'm Still In Love With You, an album that found the soul man at the peak of his powers.

Even the album cover screams "smooth." Al's luxuriating in one of those big white patio chairs. He's dressed in all white (except for his socks), against a pure white background (minus some ambience-adding plants. The man is sporting some serious bling. His short natural hairstyle is combed to perfection. His legs are crossed nonchalantly, and the smile on his face says one thing: "Man, you're lucky this is only a picture of me, because if I was there, your girlfriend would be in my arms right now." The vibe of confidence, coolness, and smoothness carries over into the album's musical content.

Al's voice, much like followers like Luther Vandross and 70's-ear Ron Isley, is soulful as all hell, but with a measured sort of cool. Al wouldn't dare oversing a line. He doesn't reach into a bag of vocal theatrics. The man doesn't break a sweat. Longtime producer Willie Mitchell provides background arrangements as cool and calm as the man's voice.

The album's track is breezy and calm. The song's tempo and blaring horn section sounds very similar to Al's previous big hit, "Let's Stay Together." Then the voice comes in, like a ceiling fan spinning on a humid summer's day:

"Spending my days...thinking 'bout you, girl..."

"Still In Love" is just about as perfect as a soul song gets. Excellent, understated musicianship, the cooing female background vocals, and Al's velvet voice floating on top. And that's just the first track on the album. There's much more where that comes from.

"Simply Beautiful" practically floats by on a cloud. With just the hint of a drumbeat, an acoustic guitar, and some churchy organ fills, Al practically whispers his devotion to his woman. No singer in history has done so much with just a whisper and a mumble. Slap on some headphones and you could swear he's whispering right in your ear. "I'm Glad You're Mine" contains some nifty percssion work from drummers Howard Grimes & Al Jackson. The flirty organs and horns combine with Al's joyful vocal performance to produce a song as joyful as "Simply Beautiful" is romantic.

"Love & Happiness" definitely hints towards the direction that Al would take later in his career. Although it's secular to the bone, Al does more than his share of testifying about the joy of being in love with someone. He breaks it down towards the end of the song with some serious call-and-response with his femme backup singers. One of the best things about this album is the pure joy that it expresses. Today's soul singers would be wise to play this record a few times to get the idea of what a great album is.

No Al Green album would be complete without a cover or two. Green has just come off of a huge hit with a sweaty rendition of The Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," and the two covers here are well-done, although they're the least essential tracks on the album. His cover of Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" is the most insistently upbeat track on the album, and it's...pleasant. He doesn't do anything really different from the original other than "soul" it up a little bit. He then offers a beautiful rendition of Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times."

It's easy to see why women latched on to Al as much as they did during his heyday. With lines like "Loving you...that's where it's at!" (from "Look What You Done For Me), he was one of the first male singers to speak directly to the female population. And he did it in a way that wasn't pandering. While the women went gaga, the dudes figured out "Hey-maybe Al can articulate the way I feel about my lady". Well, it was probably more like "If I talk some of this Al Green sh*t, I'll get SO much more pu**y," but you get the point.

This album still resonates in soul music today. Any male singer out there who performs songs that identify strongly with women owes a strong debt of gratitude to the Reverend. More obviously, almost every song on this album has been remade at least once, whether we're talking about Al B. Sure!'s cover of "I'm Still In Love With You," or Darius Rucker's rendition of "I'm Glad You're Mine" on his solo album. Teena Marie re-interpreted "What A Wonderful Thing Love Is" on last year's hit Still In Love while Queen Latifah's recent cover of "Simply Beautiful" featured guest vocals from the Reverend himself.

I'm Still In Love With You is definitely a touchstone of soul music. When I was little, I can't think of any relative or family friend's house I visited that did NOT have this album. Anyone with any interest in soul music at all NEEDS to have a copy of this album. In Al's heyday (1970-77 or so), he never made a bad album, but this one is truly essential.

And it might score ya some points in the sack, too!!

Michael Speed