Gil Scott-Heron – Moving Target (Red Vinyl)

Gil Scott-Heron's Moving Target arrived in 1982 as the last proper studio album he would make for more than a decade, and it catches him at an interesting turning point. Recorded after a long stretch of touring, the album gives the Midnight Band a bigger role than usual and shifts some of Scott-Heron's focus from direct political attack toward more personal and community-minded writing. Even "Washington D.C." is framed less as a song about politicians than about the resilience of the city's people.

Musically, this is one of the tougher and more outward-looking records in his catalogue. The jazzy R&B and funk pulse of "Fast Lane" and "Explanations" is opened up by reggae touches, with "No Exit" and "Ready Or Not" drawing on Caribbean rhythms in a way that reflects the band's travels as much as contemporary crossover soul. That broadened sound gives the record a looser, road-tested feel without losing Scott-Heron's sharp sense of purpose.

The closing "Black History/The World" stretches to nearly ten minutes and links his spoken-word roots to a plainspoken plea for peace and change, while "Blue Collar" stands out as a populist statement for working people across the country. This Record Store Day 2025 edition is especially welcome because the album had been out of print and unavailable on vinyl for years.

Features

• Red Vinyl, Record Store Day 2025 edition
• Newly remastered
• OBI side strip, cardboard jacket with original artwork, and printed inner sleeve

Reviews

• A fine opportunity to get acquainted with Scott-Heron's pioneering mix of politics, protest and proto-rap poetry, set to a musical jazz-funk hybrid. - The Guardian

Genre: Soul & Funk