Who is Gil Scott-Heron? Well, for those who don't know, we should probably begin with this simple nugget of information. As James Brown is the godfather of soul, so Gil Scott-Heron is the godfather of rap. Although his influence seems to be lost on this generation's cash, women and fame industry of rap and, I shudder to use the term, R&B, Scott-Heron's particular brand of intelligent and to-the-point street poetry was the spark for the whole hip-hop genre.
His incendiary lyrical style was the voice of anybody who had been downtrodden, passed over or just generally screwed by government, big business or industry. And if you're wondering where his influence is today, just look at groups such as Public Enemy, the now defunct Rage Against the Machine or both Michael Franti outfits, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and Spearhead.
Despite all of the above, however, Tales of Gil won't really leave one with the ultimate understanding of what he's all about. Running for a mere 60 minutes and six songs, it just doesn't do his talents justice when, above all, the performance focuses too much on his lazy, coffee table jazz/funk material.
The set list is as follows:
Three Miles Down
We Almost Lost Detroit
Angel Dust
Winter in America
Johannesburg
The Bottle
The exclusion of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised from this performance is just borderline criminal, although it's most likely Gil's particular choice in exercising irony.
The overall presentation for Tales of Gil is quite average. As the programme was recorded way back in 1990, then logic would dictate that the video presentation isn't going to look that great. Other than appearing a little pale on occasion and being rather heavy on grain though, there isn't much else to complain about here. Considering the low-profile nature of this release, the presentation could certainly have been much worse.
Despite the 5.1 mixing, the audio track here is curiously unspectacular. The majority of the performance is stereo based, with 90 percent of the action coming from the front left and right speakers. There is no significantly audible usage of the subwoofer, although the surrounds are quietly used from time to time for audience atmosphere and very mild reverb spread. Overall, the sound is just too muddy in places to really make proper use of 5.1 mixing.
There are two extras available for Tales of Gil, both featuring UK journalist/broadcaster Kevin Le Gendre. The first is a five and a half-minute introduction that provides a detailed background on Gil Scott-Heron's music, while the second is in the form of a partial audio commentary where Kevin Le Gendre provides an introduction and some background information for each of the songs performed.
Even though it's still essentially a decent performance, with only six songs on offer, it is hard to recommend Tales of Gil to anyone unfamiliar with his music. Even die-hard fans will most likely find this a bit of a disappointment.
