The legendary Gil is gone too soon - only 62. Very sad news. I guess that tough life he chose for himself finally caught up with him. He made a big mark and won't soon be forgotten, especially after his comeback to more critical acclaim after 15 years or more off the scene, drugged up, in jail etc. RIP to the revolutionary poet with the mellifluous voice who's up there with the greats. His live shows were always uplifting and I'm now even more gutted that the last time I had a ticket to see him the gig was cancelled because his travel was disrupted by the volcanic ash events.

A big loss. I saw him at the Royal Festival Hall last year - his first London show in 15 years. He did a stunning version of Pieces of a Man.

RIP.

Sad news. I guess the hard living caught up with him in the end. A true legend and one of the father's of rap. RIP. Will the funeral be televised?

"New York Is Killing Me: The Unlikely Survival Of Gil Scott-Heron"

It's seven pages, but worth reading to the end, even if you're not a huge fan.

[www.newyorker.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-05-28 16:23 by tatters.

RIP GIL

I loved his left-wing views about America... or Amerikkka as he would have spelt it.

He'll be missed!

Saw him at the Blue Note a few months ago... Very sad.

Quote
tatters
"New York Is Killing Me: The Unlikely Survival Of Gil Scott-Heron"

It's seven pages, but worth reading to the end, even if you're not a huge fan.

[www.newyorker.com]

Thanks for the post, Tatters. A great read.

Nice acknowledgement here. Colleges in the US (particularly NYC) should offer courses in Gil Scott-Heron. I'm sad to hear of his passing.

Indeed. I got into him in the mid-80s, when a friend of mine played me the 12" of Space Shuttle. This was about the first and only studio recording Gil had released in five or six years. It's a wonderful song.

I went to see him on the Amnesia Express tour and it was pretty bad. Gil was obviously strung out and barely engaged with either the audience or his material. He did pull it together towards the end though. And then all went quiet. He was meant to release an album of new material after the tour, but that never happened. Then he had his run-ins with the law.

Spirits - his only album of the 90s, and then his first album of new material in 12 years - was a really powerful return. I defy anyone to listen to the long, three part rewrite of Home is Where The Hatred Is (called The Other Side) and not be moved. Where the original was about a junkie mother, the new version is written from the junkie's perspective. By then Gil had fallen victim to the very things he railed against, and when he sings "Can't quit it/can't quit it" over and over, mantra-like, on "The Other Side", it's both poignant and quietly harrowing. It was the centre piece of the live shows from that era.

The first track released from I'm New Here was a cover of Robert Johnson's Me and The Devil Blues. Gil rewrote the lyrics and the tune. Where Johnson sang about the devil chasing him, Gil sings about his own demons - the drugs. As a comeback, it wasn't only a magnificent return, it was a huge howl of intent as well as anguish.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-05-29 10:26 by Nikolai.

Yes sad news. I always though "Moving Target" was one of the best albums released in the 80`s

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humanriff77
Yes sad news. I always though "Moving Target" was one of the best albums released in the 80`s

Underrated, that one. I don't think Gil made a bad studio album.