Small Talk at 125th and Lenox

1970 live album by Gil Scott-Heron
Small Talk at 125th and Lenox
Live album by
Gil Scott-Heron
Released1970
Venue125th & Lenox Nightclub (New York, New York)
GenreJazz poetry, proto-rap, spoken word
Length44:01
LabelFlying Dutchman/RCA
FD-10143
ProducerBob Thiele
Gil Scott-Heron chronology
Small Talk at 125th and Lenox
(1970) 		Pieces of a Man
(1971)
Alternative cover
2001 reissue cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Billboard(favorable)[2]
Virgin Encyclopedia[3]
Uncut7/10[4]

A New Black Poet - Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, also known simply as Small Talk at 125th and Lenox,[5] is a live album and the first release of recording artist Gil Scott-Heron, released in 1970 on Flying Dutchman Records.[6] Recording sessions for the album were originally said to have taken place live at a New York nightclub located on the corner of 125th Street and Lenox Avenue,[5] but liner notes included in the 2012 box set The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters, Scott-Heron himself insists that a small audience was brought to 'the studio' and seated on 'folding chairs'.[7] By the time of the recordings, Scott-Heron had published a volume of poetry and his first novel, The Vulture.[8] Well received by music critics who found Scott-Heron's material imaginative,[2][3] Small Talk at 125th and Lenox has been described as "a volcanic upheaval of intellectualism and social critique" by AllMusic editor John Bush.[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gil Scott-Heron

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Introduction/The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"3:17
2."Omen"1:45
3."Brother"2:35
4."Comment #1"4:26
5."Small Talk at 125th & Lenox"1:20
6."The Subject Was Faggots"3:10
7."Evolution (And Flashback)"3:20
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Plastic Pattern People"2:50
2."Whitey on the Moon"1:57
3."The Vulture"2:00
4."Enough"8:37
5."Paint It Black"0:30
6."Who'll Pay Reparations on My Soul?"4:20
7."Everyday"4:20
  • "Who'll Pay Reparations on My Soul?" runs at 5:14 on CD reissue.[5]

Personnel

  • David Barnes – percussion, vocals
  • Charlie Saunders, Eddie Knowles – congas
  • Gil Scott-Heron – guitar, piano, vocals
Technical
  • Charles Stewart – cover art
  • Bob Thiele – producer

Legacy

Leon Bridges performed a new rendition of "Whitey on the Moon" in the 2018 Damien Chazelle film First Man, which was also included on the film's soundtrack album.[9]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Bush, John. Review: Small Talk at 125th and Lenox. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-07-31.
  2. ^ a b Columnist. "Review: Small Talk at 125th and Lenox". Billboard: 14: October 2, 1971
  3. ^ a b Larkin, Colin. "Review: Small Talk at 125th and Lenox". Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music: March 1, 2002.
  4. ^ Williamson, Nigel (September 2015). "Gil Scott-Heron: Small Talk At 125th And Lennox". Uncut. p. 94.
  5. ^ a b c Track listing and credits as per liner notes for Small Talk at 125th and Lenox CD reissue
  6. ^ Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (LP) Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine. Discogs. Retrieved on 2009-07-31.
  7. ^ Gill Scott Heron The Revolution begins-The Flying Dutchman Masters 3 cd including booklet with notes by Dean Rudland, Ace Records 2012
  8. ^ Bordowitz, Hank. "Gil Scott-Heron Archived 2008-10-03 at the Wayback Machine". American Visions: June 1, 1998.
  9. ^ NPR "First Man Considers Glory, Grief And A Famous Walk On The Moon" Archived 2020-06-06 at the Wayback Machine by Linda Holmes, October 11, 2018 (retrieved October 12, 2018)

References

External links

  • Small Talk at 125th and Lenox at Discogs
  • v
  • t
  • e
Studio albums
Co-billed with Brian Jackson
with Jamie xx
with Makaya McCraven
  • We’re New Again - A Reimagining By Makaya McCraven (2020)
Live albums
  • Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970)
  • It's Your World (1976; with Jackson)
  • Minister of Information: Live (1994)
  • Tour de Force (Live) (2004)
Compilations
  • The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1974)
  • The Best of Gil Scott-Heron (Arista) (1984)
  • Tales of Gil Scott-Heron (1990)
  • Glory: The Gil Scott-Heron Collection (1990)
  • Ghetto Style (1998)
  • The Gil Scott-Heron Collection: Sampler 1974-1975 (1998)
  • Evolution (And Flashback): The Very Best of Gil Scott-Heron (1999)
  • Save the Children (2004)
  • Anthology: Messages (2005)
  • The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters (2011)
Singles
  • "Home Is Where the Hatred Is"
  • "The Bottle"
  • "Johannesburg"
  • "B-Movie"
  • "Superman"
  • "Hello Sunday! Hello Road!"
  • "Storm Music"
  • "Re-Ron"
  • "Winter in America"
  • "Space Shuttle"
  • "Don't Give Up"
  • "The Klan"
  • "Me and the Devil"
Other songsRelated topics
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • MusicBrainz release group