After the shaky start of Green Is Blues,
Al Green and producer
Willie Mitchell established their classic sound with
Green's second album,
Gets Next to You. The main difference is in the rhythm section. Abandoning the gritty syncopations of deep Southern soul, the Hi Rhythm Section plays it slow and seductive, working a sultry, steady pulse that
Green exploits with his remarkable voice. Alternating between
Sam Cooke's croon and
Otis Redding's shout,
Green develops his own distinctive style, and
Gets Next to You only touches the surface of its depth. Although the album is filled with wonderful moments, few are as astonishing as
Green and
Mitchell's reinterpretation of
the Temptations' "I Can't Get Next to You," which turns the original inside out. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine