One Track Mind: Al Green with Chicago, "Tired Of Being Alone" (1973)

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by S. Victor Aaron

Last month Al Green released a new album, Lay It Down, which I’d recommend to any fan of pure, old-school soul. Later this month Chicago’s Stone Of Sisyphus, originally record in 1993, will finally be officially released. But twenty years even before that was taped, both of these acts were regulars at the top of the charts. It would’ve been a sublime combination if both of them had recorded together then at the peak of their respective careers.

Actually, for one song, they did just that.

[SOMETHING ELSE! INTERVIEW: Legendary jazz-rock drummer Danny Seraphine talks about the beginnings of Chicago, and the end, then how he finally emerged with a new band, California Transit Authority.]

As part of the promotion the just-released Chicago VI, Chicago hosted a TV special Chicago In The Rockies from their new recording digs in Nederland, Colorado. In a segment of the show, Green walks in on Chicago tooling around in their studio and an impromptu take of Green’s 1971 hit “Tired of Being Alone” was performed on the spot.

OK, so maybe it wasn’t so “impromptu,” but the moment was still magical.

When an expanded and remastered edition of Chicago VI was issued in 2002, the audio from this little jam was tacked on the end of the album and immediately becomes the best track on the entire group of songs.

There’s no need for me to get into why this was a standout performance; the video of it really speaks for itself:

S. Victor Aaron