Moving Target (Gil Scott-Heron album)

Moving Target
Studio album by
Gil Scott-Heron
ReleasedSeptember 1982
RecordedMarch–June 1982
Length37:33
LabelArista
ProducerMalcolm Cecil, Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron chronology
Reflections
(1981) 		Moving Target
(1982) 		Spirits
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Sounds[1]

Moving Target is a studio album by American spoken-word poet and blues musician Gil Scott-Heron.

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".[2]

The album, co-produced by Malcolm Cecil,[3] was released in September 1982 on LP (#204921), and issued as a CD in February 1997, under the same number.[4] Robert Christgau gave the album a B.[3]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Gil Scott-Heron; except where indicated

  1. "Fast Lane" (lyrics: Scott-Heron; music: Robbie Gordon) – 4:55
  2. "Washington D.C." – 4:13
  3. "No Exit" – 4:08
  4. "Blue Collar" – 5:18
  5. "Explanations" – 4:12
  6. "Ready or Not" (lyrics: Scott-Heron; music: Larry McDonald) – 4:33
  7. "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

  1. ^ Burkham, Chris (2 October 1982). "Gil Scott-Heron: Moving Target". Sounds. p. 30.
  2. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir (2003). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. Backbeat. p. 604. ISBN 9780879307448.
  3. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "CG: Gil Scott-Heron". Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  4. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (2002). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate. p. 141. ISBN 9781841953120.