Moving Target (Gil Scott-Heron album)
Moving Target is a studio album by American spoken-word poet and blues musician Gil Scott-Heron.
Moving Target | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1982 | |||
Recorded | March-July 1982 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Producer | Malcolm Cecil, Gil Scott-Heron | |||
Gil Scott-Heron chronology | ||||
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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
- "Fast Lane" (lyrics: Scott-Heron; music: Robbie Gordon) - 4:55
- "Washington D.C." - 4:13
- "No Exit" - 4:08
- "Blue Collar" - 5:18
- "Ready or Not" (lyrics: Scott-Heron; music: Larry McDonald) - 4:10
- "Explanations" - 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).
References
- Bogdanov, Vladimir (2003). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. Backbeat. p. 604. ISBN 9780879307448.
- Christgau, Robert. "CG: Gil Scott-Heron". Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- Strong, Martin Charles (2002). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate. p. 141. ISBN 9781841953120.