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Moving Target (Gil Scott-Heron album)

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Moving Target
Studio album by
Released1982 (1982)
RecordedMarch–July 1982
LabelArista
ProducerMalcolm Cecil, Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron chronology
Reflections
(1981)
Moving Target
(1982)
Spirits
(1994)

Moving Target is a studio album by American spoken-word poet and blues musician Gil Scott-Heron.

Background, production, release

The album, released on Arista in 1982, was to be his last for more than a decade. On Moving Target, Scott-Heron and his "Midnight Band" recorded their "typical, tastefully jazzy R&B and funk grooves", though flavored with "more exotic sounds" and influenced by reggae (there are echoes of Bob Marley in some songs). The final song, the almost ten-minute long "Black History/The World", is in part a spoken-word performance by Scott-Heron ending with a "plea for peace and world change".[1]

The album, co-produced by Malcolm Cecil,[2] was released in September 1982 on LP (#204921), and issued as a CD in February 1997, under the same number.[3] Robert Christgau gave the album a B.[2]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Gil Scott-Heron; except where indicated

  1. "Fast Lane" (lyrics: Scott-Heron; music: Robbie Gordon) - 4:55
  2. "Washington D.C." - 4:13
  3. "No Exit" - 4:08
  4. "Blue Collar" - 5:18
  5. "Ready or Not" (lyrics: Scott-Heron; music: Larry McDonald) - 4:10
  6. "Explanations" - 4:33
  7. "Black History/The World" - 9:42

Personnel

  • Gil Scott-Heron - vocals; electric piano on "Washington D.C."
  • Vernon James - alto saxophone; flute on "Ready or Not"
  • Robbie Gordon - bass
  • Kenny Powell - drums
  • Ed Brady - guitar
  • Glen Turner - keyboards
  • Carl Cornwell - tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 3, 7)
  • Ron Holloway - tenor saxophone
  • Kenny Sheffield - trumpet
  • Larry McDonald - percussion
  • "High Note" Harry Kim - trumpet on "Washington D.C."
  • Malcolm Cecil - horn arrangement on "Fast Lane"

Technical personnel

  • Malcolm Cecil - engineer, co-producer
  • Alan Douglas - second engineer
  • Richard Mannering - second engineer
  • Denis Heron - coordinator, production assistant
  • Bob Carboni - mastering
  • Donn Davenport - artwork
  • John Ford - photography
  • Recorded at Bias Studio, Springfield, Virginia (March 25–27 and May 28–29, 1982); Townhouse Studios, London (April 9–12, 1982); The Manor Studio, Oxford (April 19–21, 1982); and Record Plant, Los Angeles (June 7–17, 1982). Mixed at Record Plant. Mastered at A&M Studios, Los Angeles (July 1982).

References

  1. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir (2003). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. Backbeat. p. 604. ISBN 9780879307448.
  2. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "CG: Gil Scott-Heron". Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  3. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (2002). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate. p. 141. ISBN 9781841953120.