In that age of politically charged concept albums, most notably Marvin Gaye’s superb What’s Going On, Gil’s inspired lyrical goal with this new album was to create an audio novel that told the story of a junkie veteran from Vietnam hanging on the corner of Any Ghetto, U.S.A. and studying the world through his stoned perceptive. The album’s original title, Supernatural Corner, was the name of the space the unnamed junkie was supposed to occupy. Thinking in writerly devices, Gil planned to record spoken-word interludes between the songs that revealed that the vet was actually in a mental institution losing his mind.
Michael Gonzales at Pitchfork. Winter in America
The 1974 album from the revolutionary singer and poet braided together his passion for music and literature. Its emotional pitch and fervent political tenor still resonates loudly in America today.