Album Review: Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here (2010)

Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here
XL: 2010

The opening track of I’m New Here is as political as spiritual. Heron has stated qualms with hip-hop in the past, and many of his fans have followed suit by damning Kanye West for a pair of fairly conspicuous samples in his catalog. Opening the album with a sample of “Flashing Lights” reads then as a statement that Gil Scott-Heron is acutely aware of the current musical climate. Or perhaps Richard Russell is aware of the irony, and all Heron heard was the fairly conspicuous loop no questions asked. Doubtful, but I do truly wonder if they realize how distracting and disappointing it is to remove the bass kick from the “Flashing Lights” loop. By failing to do anything with the song but highlight the most monotonous portion of it, the sample ultimately distracts from Heron’s lyricism, or stanzas, or what have you.

Most of the time he’s not sampling contemporary music, though, and when instruments come into play Russell does a good job making things like “I’m New Here” and “New York Is Killing Me” sound vibrant. The former, a Bill Callahan cover, is repurposed as a statement of purpose from someone who actively appropriates current trends in music to meet his own needs. “Your Soul and Mine” sounds like both the soundtrack to Playstation 3 game Heavy Rain and the skeleton of some lost Rusko banger. “Where Did the Night Go?” gets lost in a sea of darkness, perfectly articulating a lonely and reflective night. But the dubstep sounds of “The Crutch” are painfully crippled, referencing the genre rather than fully understanding it.

I feel that many of these complaints, however, come from my perspective of music. With artists like Heron, as the Kanye West sample implies one often has to question themselves and the art rather than simply enjoy it. It takes Heron a while to really open himself up to us after the intro, providing instead covers of Bobby Bland, Robert Johnson and the aforementioned Bill Callahan interrupted by “Your Soul and Mine” and “Parents”, a portend of things to follow on the second half. “Where Did the Night Go?”, which finds Heron setting down his record collection and coming to grips with the reality he actually lives in, acts as both physical and metaphorical apexes between two brief sides.

I’m New Here finds Heron being as frank as ever, and in perhaps his most personal position yet. I’ve only heard Pieces of a Man so I can’t really speak to Heron’s growth or trials leading to this record other than his voice has obviously taken on a different, much wearier persona in his later years. He resembles Tom Waits more than the commanding voice at the pulpit he carried in the ’70s, but his new old vocals are perfectly suited for most of the material here. It’s a shame that there isn’t just a little more to this album, in both the production and the amount of content, because this album feels like it really could have been a statement. But similar to Johnny Cash’s American series, I feel like it takes a bit of prior investment in the artist’s narrative to achieve the art’s emotional peak.

I’m New Here is a good record, but thanks to its brevity and somewhat hollow production there’s not a lot to return to once you’ve figured everything out. It’s provocative and revealing of Heron’s inner demons, perhaps even relieving him of them for a moment. It’s obvious that this was not a record Heron made for money or opportunity, but his strong will can only take I’m New Here so far. It still ultimately feels like a peek into a scrapbook, a look at a lost collection of performances compiled and sequenced. The album’s really interesting for the first week or so, but over time I’ve felt like ‘I get it’, and we’ll see where this leads. More than anything, this release proves Heron has another great album in him if he finds the time to cut one.

3.5 out of 5