Small Talk at 125th and Lenox | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | 1970 | |||
Venue | 125th & Lenox Nightclub (New York, New York) | |||
Genre | Jazz poetry, proto-rap, spoken word | |||
Length | 44:01 | |||
Label | Flying Dutchman/RCA FD-10143 | |||
Producer | Bob Thiele | |||
Gil Scott-Heron chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
![]() 2001 reissue cover |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Billboard | (favorable)[2] |
Virgin Encyclopedia | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Uncut | 7/10[4] |
A New Black Poet - Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, also known simply as Small Talk at 125th and Lenox,[5] is a live album and the first release of recording artist Gil Scott-Heron, released in 1970 on Flying Dutchman Records.[6] Recording sessions for the album were originally said to have taken place live at a New York nightclub located on the corner of 125th Street and Lenox Avenue,[5] but liner notes included in the 2012 box set The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters, Scott-Heron himself insists that a small audience was brought to "the studio" and seated on "folding chairs".[7] By the time of the recordings, Scott-Heron had published a volume of poetry and his first novel, The Vulture.[8] Well received by music critics, who found Scott-Heron's material imaginative,[2][3] Small Talk at 125th and Lenox has been described as "a volcanic upheaval of intellectualism and social critique" by AllMusic editor John Bush.[1]