Scott-heron, Gil
Live '86
Born to an African-American opera singer and a Jamaican footballer who played for Celtic in Glasgow, Gil Scott-Heron was a ground-breaking musician and writer whose melding of poetry, soul and political activism paved the way for the arrival of rap and prefaced neo-soul by some decades. In live performance, Scott-Heron was always a force to be reckoned with, especially with his Amnesia Express behind him, with Jamaican percussionist Larry McDonald and saxophonist Ron Holloway. This album collects four exceptional moments of their 1986 tour, with excellent versions of landmark B Movie and substance-misuse epics The Bottle and Angel Dust, as well as an extended Alien (Hold On to Your Dream).