Gil Scott-Heron ‎– Reflections

While Gil has had any amazing career, I think he slipped a bit after Brian Jackson split. I missed the experimentation on 1980, and Bridges and Secrets were both amazing (in fact I always found those 3 to be their best--with the possible exception of Pieces of a Man--and yet they were the ones OOP for so long! Still OOP in USA!!!) Brian's song writing had become so much a part of the sound on each album, it was glaringly obvious something was missing when he left. Real Eyes was a back to basics, and while good, I was a bit disappointed Gil was playing it safe. Moving Target, his final effort for Arista, was great, but in that "yes, I expected that", by-the-numbers kind of way.

Reflections, on the other hand, is the best of the post-Brian Jackson Arista bunch, IMO. Primarily because it is a return to Gil the poet. Although only 2 proper spoken poem tracks (B-Movie and Inner City Blues), much of the rest of the album's lyrics are more like songs of "Pieces of a Man". Most of GIl's albums post-Free Will have been dominated by a simplistic phrasing to make for catchy pop songs and hooks. Here, they either tell a story or are just giving a broader view of the way he characterizes the world.

The music seems a bit more inspired as well, more vibrant I'd say. Particularly, the lounge-jazz of "Is that Jazz?" and the meditative "Morning Thoughts". Overall, this has, consistently, Gil's best and most thought provoking lyrics over the course of an entire album since 1971's "Pieces of a Man". Considering his tepid output over the next few decades--2 albums which technically qualify as EPs due to covers, remakes and spoken word pieces--this is Gil's best album of songs without Brian Jackson and probably always will be.