Lay It Down (Al Green album)

Lay It Down
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

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 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 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.

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)^[18]	54
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[19]	87
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[20]	66
French Albums (SNEP)^[21]	55
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[22]	44
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[23]	99
UK Albums (OCC)^[24]	88
US Billboard 200^[25]	9
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[26]	3

Year-end charts

Chart (2008)	Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[27]	72

References

^ ^a ^b Lay It Down on Metacritic
^ ^a ^b ^c Jurek, Thom (March 27, 2008). Lay It Down - Al Green | AllMusic: Review. AllMusic. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
^ Willman, Chris (March 30, 2008). Lay It Down | Music | EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
^ Weiss, Jeff (May 27, 2008). A talent confused by his ambitions - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
^ From the gentle fire of the first, and title track, this is Green in the role of Love Man and in very fine form. [July 2008, p.100]
^ Christgau, Robert (July 2008). Inside Music: Consumer Guide. MSN Music. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011.
^ Wolk, Douglas (May 29, 2008). Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Al Green: Lay It Down. Pitchfork. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
^ Harold, Claudrena N. (May 27, 2008). "Al Green: Lay It Down". PopMatters. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
^ Rosen, Jody (May 29, 2008). Lay It Down by Al Green | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
^ Wood, Mikael (June 2008). Al Green, 'Lay It Down' (Blue Note) | SPIN.com. Spin. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
^ Hodgkinson, Will (May 23, 2008). Al Green: Lay It Down review | CD reviews | Music - Times Online. The Times. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.
^ Amazon.com: Lay It Down: Al Green: Music
^ "Chart History - Al Green". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
^ Conner, Thomas [in German] (December 3, 2009). "Complete list of Grammy nominees". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media Group. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
^ "Grammy Awards 2009: The full list of winners". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
^ "Review of Lay It Down by Blender magazine". Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved December 25, 2008
^ "Austriancharts.at – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^ "Ultratop.be – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^ "Lescharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^ "Al Green Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^ "Al Green Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[metacritic-1] Lay It Down on Metacritic

[Jurek-2] Jurek, Thom (March 27, 2008). Lay It Down - Al Green | AllMusic: Review. AllMusic. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.

[Willman-3] Willman, Chris (March 30, 2008). Lay It Down | Music | EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.

[Weiss-4] Weiss, Jeff (May 27, 2008). A talent confused by his ambitions - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.

[5] From the gentle fire of the first, and title track, this is Green in the role of Love Man and in very fine form. [July 2008, p.100]

[Christgau-6] Christgau, Robert (July 2008). Inside Music: Consumer Guide. MSN Music. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011.

[Wolk-7] Wolk, Douglas (May 29, 2008). Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Al Green: Lay It Down. Pitchfork. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.

[8] Harold, Claudrena N. (May 27, 2008). "Al Green: Lay It Down". PopMatters. Retrieved May 5, 2025.

[Rosen-9] Rosen, Jody (May 29, 2008). Lay It Down by Al Green | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.

[Wood-10] Wood, Mikael (June 2008). Al Green, 'Lay It Down' (Blue Note) | SPIN.com. Spin. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.

[Hodgkinson-11] Hodgkinson, Will (May 23, 2008). Al Green: Lay It Down review | CD reviews | Music - Times Online. The Times. Retrieved on April 10, 2011.

[12] Amazon.com: Lay It Down: Al Green: Music

[13] "Chart History - Al Green". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved March 18, 2020.

[14] Conner, Thomas [in German] (December 3, 2009). "Complete list of Grammy nominees". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media Group. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2011.

[15] "Grammy Awards 2009: The full list of winners". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved March 18, 2020.

[16] "Review of Lay It Down by Blender magazine". Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.

[bestsongs-17] "The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved December 25, 2008

[ac_Austria_Al_Green-18] "Austriancharts.at – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[ac_Flanders_Al_Green-19] "Ultratop.be – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[ac_Netherlands_Al_Green-20] "Dutchcharts.nl – Al Green – Lay It Down" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[ac_France_Al_Green-21] "Lescharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[ac_Sweden_Al_Green-22] "Swedishcharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[ac_Switzerland_Al_Green-23] "Swisscharts.com – Al Green – Lay It Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[ac_UK2_-24] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[ac_Billboard200_Al_Green-25] "Al Green Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_Al_Green-26] "Al Green Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

[27] "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.

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