Gil Scott-Heron's third album is split down the middle, the first side being a purely musical experience with a full band (including flutist
Hubert Laws and drummer
Pretty Purdie), the second functioning more as a live rap session with collaborator
Brian Jackson on flute and a few friends on percussion. For side one, although he's overly tentative on the ballad "The Middle of Your Day,"
Scott-Heron excels on the title track and the third song, "The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues," one of his best, best-known performances. The second side is more of an impromptu performance, with
Scott-Heron often explaining his tracks by way of introduction ("No Knock" referred to a new police policy whereby knocking was no longer required before entering a house, "And Then He Wrote Meditations" being
Scott-Heron's tribute to
John Coltrane). His first exploration of pure music-making, Free Will functions as one of
Scott-Heron's most visceral performance, displaying a maturing artist who still draws on the raw feeling of his youth. The Bluebird reissue from 2001 includes eight alternate takes, best being an alternate of the title track. ~ John Bush