Description:	CD on XL
	Format:	CD
	Genre(s):	Singer-Songwriter
	Label:	XL
	Price:	£12.49
	Availability:	Dispatched within 2-5 days (on average).

5
...according to our Brett on 04 February 2010.

Gil Scott-Heron's one of those guys I've more read about than actually heard (barring copious sampling and his undoubted influence on myriad artists and the entire hip-hop scene down the years) so it's a real pleasure to have the chance of sitting down with I'm New Here, his XL debut and first album in fourteen years (if Wikipedia's to be believed). The 'rules' in the liner notes for how to properly listen to the album are immediately endearing (although I should apologise since reviewing stuff in here pretty much forces you to break every single one of them) and right off the bat we were all transfixed - Gil's gruff yet somehow smooth tones massaging our ears while spinning addictive yarns (which I could happily listen to endlessly) and offering righteous indignance at the ills and ignorance of the world in a variety of rhythmically spoken interludes. He also gets his song on a wee bit with covers of Robert Johnson's 'Me and the Devil' and Smog's 'I'm New Here', delivered in a style pitched somewhere between soul and blues but going down a treat whichever way you slice 'em. The only caveat for me is the production (from XL head honcho Richard Russell) which occasionally sounds a bit dated in a 'late 90s trip-hop' kind of a way but it's not any sort of issue in practice 'cos it's really all just window dressing for the star of the show and it's hard to be distracted by anything else once he's caught your ear. The vinyl's pretty immense too, a double 180g LP (one of which is pure bonus tracks) crammed into a super-thick tip-on style sleeve containing two prints! Well deluxe.

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Sound clips for I'm New Here by Gil Scott-Heron: on CD at Norman Records UK. CD, XL, XLCD471, £12.49.

What their label says...

‘I’m New Here’ sees proto-rap pioneer Gil Scott-Heron still looking forward, still challenging conventions and expectations, with his first album in 13 years.

•    Without doubt one of the most important voices in 20th century music, Gil Scott-Heron’s unfailingly sharp and ironic eye spared neither Black Power phonies or scheming presidents. In 1971 he laid out the blueprint for the whole rap genre with his slinky anthem ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ while, throughout a career spanning five decades, his deep, soulful voice spoke of nukes, Reaganomics or apartheid, always from deep inside the tradition.

•    ‘I’m New Here’ sees Gil Scott-Heron sounding as vital as ever; a record that reveals something unexpected at every turn; one that sees Scott-Heron pushing, probing and testing the boundaries just as he always has. Alongside his ‘I’m New Here’ collaborator – producer and XL Recordings head Richard Russell – Scott-Heron has made an album that eschews the cosy arrangements and retrospective leanings one might expect from an artist over forty years into their career.

• Available on CD and special edition double 180gsm Audiophile vinyl (limited to 1250 copies for the UK) which includes two prints housed in a rigid-bound gatefold sleeve.

On Coming From A Broken Home (Pt. 1) * Me And The Devil * I’m New Here * Your Soul And Mine * Parents (Interlude) * I’ll Take Care Of You *Being Blessed (Interlude) * Where Did The Night Go * I Was Guided(Interlude) * New York Is Killing Me * Certain Things (Interlude) * Running * The Crutch * I’ve Been Me (Interlude) * On Coming From A Broken Home (Pt. 2)