The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (album)

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Compilation album by Gil Scott-Heron
Released	1974
Recorded	1970–72
Genre	Jazz, funk, R&B, proto-rap, spoken word
Length	33:01
Label	Flying Dutchman
Producer	Bob Thiele
Gil Scott-Heron chronology
Free Will (1972) The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1974) Winter in America (1974)
Alternative cover
1988 reissue cover

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is a compilation album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron, released in 1974 by Flying Dutchman Records. The album takes its name from Scott-Heron's 1971 song of the same name.^[1] It features recordings previously featured on Scott-Heron's first three albums for the Flying Dutchman label, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970), Pieces of a Man (1971), and Free Will (1972),^[2] which were produced by jazz producer Bob Thiele.^[3] The album's recordings feature musical elements of funk, jazz, and proto-rap.^[4]

Release and reception

When The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was released in 1974, it charted on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums. It peaked at number 21 on October 12 after spending five weeks on the chart.^[5] In a contemporary review, Ebony magazine's Phyl Garland called the album "mind-blowing" and said Scott-Heron "does not merely posture and pacify, but presses one to consider the uncomfortable truths of contemporary blackness."^[6]

Since then, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised has positive reviews from publications such as The Washington Post and Los Angeles Daily News,^[7] the latter of whom gave it an "A"^[8] and stated, "the roots of rap run deep through this superb retrospective".^[9] Robert Christgau gave it a "B+" in a 1981 review, writing that the compilation abandons the homophobia that plagued Scott-Heron's 1970 debut Small Talk at 125th and Lenox in favor of songs that show artistic progress, including agitprop that sounds less arrogant but still committed and improved singing that reveals his compassion.^[10] In his book To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic (2007), William Jelani Cobb said of its significance in hip hop music:

While The Last Poets and This Is Madness pre-dated the beginnings of hip hop, Gil Scott-Heron's 1974 album The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was released as the art form took its first breaths of South Bronx air. Primarily a jazz album, Revolution's claim to the hip hop pantheon was anchored in a title track that found Scott-Heron delivering verse over a hypnotic, funk-indebted bassline—an approach that was so distinct at that point as to warrant classic status.^[11]

In a five-star review for the Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2002), writer Colin Larkin praised Scott-Heron's anger and passion in his spoken-word performances on "No Knock" and the title track.^[4] AllMusic's Alex Henderson also gave The Revolution Will Not Be Televised five stars and recommended the album's "innovative R&B and spoken poetry" to listeners interested in "exploring his artistry for the first time".^[3]

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

• Ron Carter – bass
• Brian Jackson – piano
• Jerry Jemmott – bass
• Burt Jones – guitar
• Eddie Knowles – percussion
• Hubert Laws – alto saxophone, flute
• Pretty Purdie – drums
• Charlie Saunders – percussion
• Gil Scott-Heron – piano, vocals, songwriter
• David Spinozza – guitar

Production

• Carmine Coppola – reissue artwork
• Joe Lopes – remastering
• Bob Simpson – engineer
• Stephen Sulke – engineer
• Bob Thiele – producer, remastering

Charts

Billboard Music Charts (North America) – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

• 1974: Top Jazz Albums – #21 (5 weeks)^[5]

Release history

Information regarding the release history of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is adapted from Discogs.^[12]

Sample use

The information regarding sampling of songs from The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is adapted from TheBreaks.com.^[13]

• "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"
  • Masta Ace – "Take a Look Around"
  • Professor Griff – "Real African People 'Rap', Pt. 2"
  • Queen Latifah – "The Evil That Men Do"
  • Salt-N-Pepa – "Whatta Man Luvbug Remix 1"
• "Home Is Where the Hatred Is"
  • Kanye West ft. Common – "My Way Home"
• "Pieces of a Man"
  • KMD – "What a Niggy Know?"

References

Bibliography

External links

• The Revolution Will Not Be Televised at Discogs (list of releases)