In 1973, Al Green released Call Me, the album widely considered his finest. Featuring soul classics such as the title track, ‘Here I Am (Come and Take Me), and ‘You Ought To Be With Me,’ as well as covers of country hits ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ and ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,’ this is am excellent introduction to the range and silky smooth sound of the Reverend.
Soul isn’t my genre, so I haven’t given Call Me as many listens as it deserves, but every time I do it’s a transporting experience.
This album came right in the middle of a streak of five Gold or Platinum albums released between 1972 and 1974. After that, Green didn’t achieve that status on another album over three decades of recording. This was truly his sweet spot, and it sounds like it.
About how you want to be
You ought to be with me
Yeah, you ought to be with me
Thinking ’bout what people do
Talking ’bout how I love you
Thinking there’s nothing to what they say
You’re going to be with me anyway
They don’t want to see us do
All of the things we want to
You ought to be with me
Hey, you ought to be with me
You don’t have to waste my time
If you want to be a friend of mine
You can leave me now and walk away
And turn your back for another day
Oh baby, yeah yeah
Ought to be the kind of girl
That can brighten this old world
And it’s hard to see why you and me
Can’t be together happily
I’m trying to realize
You being with some other guy
I don’t know the reason why
You oughta be with me until I die
Hey, you ought to be with me until I die
I don’t want to waste my time
If you want to be a friend of mine
I wanna hold you tight, love you right
Put good feeling in your night
I’m not really familiar with this song or the rest of the album for that matter, with the exception of “Here I Am,” but I do always enjoy Green’s sound.