Disregard the understated title; Small Talk at 125th and Lenox was a volcanic upheaval of intellectualism and social critique, recorded live in a New York nightclub with only bongos and conga to back the street poet. Here Scott-Heron introduced some of his most biting material, including the landmark "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" as well as his single most polemical moment: the angry race warning "Enough." Still, he balances the tone and mood well, ranging from direct broadsides to clever satire. He introduces "Whitey on the Moon" with a bemused air ("wanting to give credit where credit is due"), then launches into a diatribe concerning living conditions for the neglected on earth while those racing to the moon receive millions of taxpayer dollars. On "Evolution (And Flashback)," Scott-Heron laments the setbacks of the civil rights movement and provides a capsule history of his race, ending sharply with these words: "In 1960, I was a negro, and then Malcolm came along/Yes, but some nigger shot Malcolm down, though the bitter truth lives on/Well, now I am a black man, and though I still go second class/Whereas once I wanted the white man's love, now he can kiss my ass." The only sour note comes on a brush with homophobia, "The Subject Was Faggots."
Gil Scott-Heron
Small Talk at 125th and Lenox
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AllMusic Review by John Bush
Track Listing
| Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gil Scott-Heron | 03:21 | Amazon | |||
| 2 | Gil Scott-Heron | 01:46 | Amazon | |||
| 3 | Gil Scott-Heron | 02:35 | Amazon | |||
| 4 | Gil Scott-Heron | 04:27 | Amazon | |||
| 5 | Gil Scott-Heron | 01:21 | Amazon | |||
| 6 | Gil Scott-Heron | 03:11 | Amazon | |||
| 7 | Gil Scott-Heron | 03:21 | Amazon | |||
| 8 | Gil Scott-Heron | 02:53 | Amazon | |||
| 9 | Gil Scott-Heron | 01:59 | Amazon | |||
| 10 | Gil Scott-Heron | 04:32 | Amazon | |||
| 11 | Gil Scott-Heron | 04:16 | Amazon | |||
| 12 | Gil Scott-Heron | 00:34 | Amazon | |||
| 13 | Gil Scott-Heron | 05:15 | Amazon | |||
| 14 | Gil Scott-Heron | 04:30 | Amazon |
