I Can't Stop is a 2003 album by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 R&B singer Al Green

Al Green

Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...

, produced by Willie Mitchell and released on the Blue Note

Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...

 label. The album was Green's first release since 1995, his first for Blue Note and his first collaboration with Mitchell since 1985's He Is the Light

He is the Light

-Track listing:#"Going Away" - 3:38 #"True Love" - 4:31 #"He is the Light" - 3:24 #"I Feel Like Going On" - 3:13 #"Be with Me Jesus" #"You Brought the Sunshine" - 5:10 #"Power" - 5:22 #"Building Up" - 3:10 #"Nearer My God to Thee"...

; it was also Green's first completely secular recording since the 1970s. The reunion between Green and Mitchell was highly-anticipated, and I Can't Stop was a commercial success, peaking at #9 R&B

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

 and #53 pop

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

, Green's highest placing on both charts since Al Green Is Love

Al Green Is Love

Al Green Is Love is the ninth album by soul singer Al Green. It was his final of six consecutive albums to hit #1 on the R&B/Soul Albums chart, and it peaked into the Top 40 on the Pop Albums chart.- Track listing :...

back in 1975.

Reception

I Can't Stop received a mainly positive critical reaction, and has a favorable Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

 rating of 75/100 based on 18 reviews. Its similarity to Green's classic Hi Records

Hi Records

Hi Records was a Memphis soul and rockabilly label started in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch , and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce....

 albums of the 1970s was noted, as was the refreshing absence of collaborations and guest-artist contributions which might have been expected as a marketing device on a contemporary album by a 1970s R&B legend. The enduring quality of Green's voice was widely praised; Mojo

Mojo (magazine)

MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...

opined "(Green) is, if anything, singing better than ever". The strength of the album's material was also noted. In The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

, Alexis Petridis stated "The songwriting is largely superb, which keeps the album from sounding like a clever pastiche", while Kevin Forest Moreau of ShakingThrough.net said "There's not a sub-par song in the bunch".

Some reviews expressed reservations about over-production; Tom Smucker of Village Voice said "I Can't Stop works...as proof that Green's groove, voice and riffs are largely intact. But (he) gets tied down when production's slathered on a bit too thick". A negative review in Blender

Blender (magazine)

Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....

described the album as "a weak echo of those gloriously clean and spacious [1970s] LPs".

Track listing

• Tracks 1-3, 5-9 written by Al Green and Willie Mitchell
• Tracks 4, 10-12 written by Al Green

1. "I Can't Stop" - 3:48
2. "Play to Win" - 4:38
3. "Rainin' in My Heart" - 4:45
4. "I've Been Waitin' on You" - 3:43
5. "You" - 4:29
6. "Not Tonight" - 4:25
7. "Million to One" - 4:52
8. "My Problem Is You" - 6:28
9. "I'd Still Choose You" - 4:05
10. "I've Been Thinkin' Bout You" - 4:04
11. "I'd Write a Letter" - 3:53
12. "Too Many" - 4:01

Personnel

Al Green - Vocals

Donna Rhodes, Sandra Rhodes, Charlie Chalmers

Charles Chalmers (musician)

Charles Chalmers is a saxophonist, session musician, backup singer, songwriter and producer. He has written several hit songs for many recording artists, and has also arranged & performed on many grammy winning recordings...

 - Background vocals

Lester Snell - Piano

Robert Clayborne - Organ

Mabon "Teenie" Hodges

Teenie Hodges

Mabon Lewis "Teenie" Hodges is a Memphis, Tennessee musician, best known for his work as rhythm and lead guitarist and songwriter on many of Al Green's popular soul hits, and those of other artists such as Ann Peebles and Syl Johnson, on Hi Records in the 1970s.Born in Memphis, "Teenie" began...

, Charles "Skip" Pitts

Charles Pitts

Charles "Skip" Pitts is an American soul / blues guitarist whose distinctive "wah-wah" style can be heard on Isaac Hayes' title track from the 1971 movie Shaft....

 - Guitar

Leroy Hodges

Leroy Hodges

Electric bass player Leroy "Flick" Hodges is a relatively unknown soul musician.Paired with either Booker T. & the MGs's drummer Al Jackson or Stax staff drummer Howard Grimes, Leroy and The Hodges Brothers were the backing musicians for Al Green, Ann Peebles and several other soul, gospel and...

- Bass

Steve Potts - Percussion

Scott Thompson - Trumpet

Jack Hale - Trombone

Andrew Love, Lannie McMillan - Tenor sax

Jim Spake - Baritone sax

Joan Gilbert, Daniel Gilbert, Gregory Morris, Liza Zurlinden - Violin

Anthony Gilbert, Beth Luscombe - Viola

Peter Spurbeck, Jonathan Kirkscey - Cello