Lay It Down (Al Green album)

Lay It Down is the 29th studio album by American singer Al Green, released May 27, 2008, on Blue Note Records.^[12] The album was produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and James Poyser. The album features guest vocals from Anthony Hamilton, John Legend, and Corinne Bailey Rae.^[2]

Lay It Down
Studio album by Al Green
Released	May 27, 2008
Genre	Soul
Length	44:31
Label	Blue Note B2-48449
Producer	Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, James Poyser
Al Green chronology
Everything's OK (2005) Lay It Down (2008)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	A–[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
Mojo	[5]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A–[6]
Pitchfork	6.8/10[7]
PopMatters	9/10[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	8/10[10]
The Times	[11]

Lay It Down peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Top Album charts,^[13] and has received widespread acclaim from critics. At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best R&B Album but lost to Jennifer Hudson's self-titled album. "Stay With Me (By the Sea)" won Al Green and John Legend the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal award, and "You've Got the Love I Need" won Green and Anthony Hamilton the award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.^[14][15]

Critical reception

Lay It Down has received much critical acclaim. It currently holds a rating of 81/100 on review aggregator website Metacritic, based on 22 critical reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[1]

The album was applauded for bringing in younger producers which critics claimed gave the album a more youthful sound. Thom Jurek for AllMusic commented: "What happens when you put that amazing soul-drenched voice in the hands of hip-hop producers Questlove and James Poyser, and add a slew of superstar guests? Answer: a killer Al Green soul album".^[2] In a review for Blender, Ben Ratliff remarked that Green had "created a natural-sounding album with occasional horns and strings, taking cues directly from [his] best old records".^[16] "Lay It Down" was number 15 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.^[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Al Green.

No.	Title	Featured vocalist	Length
1.	"Lay It Down"	Anthony Hamilton	4:30
2.	"Just for Me"		3:58
3.	"You've Got the Love I Need"	Anthony Hamilton	4:14
4.	"No One Like You"		4:31
5.	"What More Do You Want From Me"		4:13
6.	"Take Your Time"	Corinne Bailey Rae	4:37
7.	"Too Much"		3:30
8.	"Stay With Me (By the Sea)"	John Legend	3:23
9.	"All I Need"		3:41
10.	"I'm Wild About You"		4:51
11.	"Standing in the Rain"		3:03
Total length:			44:31

Personnel

Adapted from CD liner notes.^[18]

• Al Green – vocals
• Anthony Hamilton – vocals (3), background vocals (1, 3)
• Corinne Bailey Rae – vocals (6), background vocals (6, 8)
• John Legend – vocals (8), background vocals (8)
• Chalmers "Spanky" Alford – guitar
• Randy Bowland – additional guitar (2, 3, 8, 11)
• James Poyser – piano, organ
• Adam Blackstone – bass (1–5, 7–11)
• Owen Biddle – bass (6)
• Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson – drums (1–10)
• Homer Steinweiss – drums (11)
• Danny Sadownick – percussion (2, 5, 11)
• The Dap-Kings Horns – horns
• Neal Sugarman – tenor saxophone
• Ian Hendrickson Smith – baritone
• Jaguar Wright, Mercedes Martinez – background vocals

Additional personnel

• Larry Gold – string orchestrator and conductor (1, 3, 6, 7, 9)
• Al Green, James Poyser, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson – producer
• Richard Nichols, Eli Wolf – executive producer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2008) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 54 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 87 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 66 French Albums (SNEP)[22] 55 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 44 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 99 UK Albums (OCC)[25] 88 US Billboard 200[26] 9 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[27] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2008) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[28] 72