Moving Target (Gil Scott-Heron album) explained
| Moving Target |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Gil Scott-Heron |
| Cover: | Moving Target (Gil Scott-Heron album).jpg |
| Released: | September 1982 |
| Recorded: | March–June 1982 |
| Length: | 37:33 |
| Label: | Arista |
| Producer: | Malcolm Cecil, Gil Scott-Heron |
| Prev Title: | Reflections |
| Prev Year: | 1981 |
| Next Title: | Spirits |
| Next Year: | 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, was released in September 1982 on LP (#204921), and issued as a CD in February 1997, under the same number.[2] Robert Christgau gave the album a B.[3]
Track listing
All tracks composed by Gil Scott-Heron; except where indicated
- "Fast Lane" (lyrics: Scott-Heron; music: Robbie Gordon) – 4:55
- "Washington D.C." – 4:13
- "No Exit" – 4:08
- "Blue Collar" – 5:18
- "Explanations" – 4:12
- "Ready or Not" (lyrics: Scott-Heron; music: Larry McDonald) – 4:33
- "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).
Notes and References
- Book: Bogdanov, Vladimir. All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. 2003. Backbeat. 9780879307448. 604.
- Book: Strong, Martin Charles. The Great Rock Discography. 2002. Canongate. 9781841953120. 141.
- Web site: CG: Gil Scott-Heron. Christgau. Robert. 26 January 2014.
