Gil Scott-Heron, 70s Extreme Soul – Retrospective His 5 Best Songs

Listening this, I can imagine Gil Scott-Heron walking down the streets of his adopted home of Harlem during the gritty 70s. Junkies, rundown housing and rampant crime mesh with the driving beat to this one.

My personal favorite Gil Scott-Heron song is from his Pieces of a Man release. That album was his second release and the melodic than the spoken word, beat poetry sound of his first album.

The song refers to a near-meltdown as a nuclear plant south of Detroit in 1969 and is one of the most powerful anti-nuclear power songs ever written.

From Gil Scott-Heron's later years, I'm New Here is the title track to this final album. His sound has mellowed, but the fires of the belly don't quench so much with age.

Scott-Heron's best known song was released twice. The version here is the spoken-word version from Small Talk at 125th and Lenox.  Another version, with full instrumentation appears on his follow-up Pieces of a Man release.  This song is considered one of the most politically charged of all time.  However, is was such a song of its era, some, if not most, of the cultural refrences will be lost on younger listeners.

It's interesting to listen to this song in light of the recent revolutions in the middle east and North Africa.  It appears that in this point in history revolutions may not be televised but they are Tweeted and spread on Facebook.