The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters

The Revolution Begins brings together every recording Gil Scott-Heron made for Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman label – three landmark albums that helped shape modern black music and introduced one of its most influential voices.

From the unforgettable spoken-word power of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised to the soul, jazz and social commentary of Pieces Of A Man and Free Will, these recordings emphasise Scott-Heron’s incredible artistic development over the course of just a few years. Long regarded as essential works, they have often been reissued in incomplete or poorly presented collections. For this set, we’ve returned to the original master tapes to deliver the best sound these recordings have ever enjoyed, revealing new depth in both Scott-Heron’s words and the music. The collection also includes every Flying Dutchman recording, including a rare collaboration with Bernard ‘Pretty’ Purdie that has never previously been reissued, plus an alternate version of ‘Free Will’ assembled from the original tapes.

Scott-Heron first came to wider attention in 1970 as a novelist and poet. When producer Bob Thiele offered him the chance to record, the result was Small Talk At 125th And Lenox, a spoken-word album accompanied only by percussion. Its opening track, ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, became one of the defining cultural statements of its era. A year later, working alongside fellow Lincoln University student Brian Jackson and a band of top musicians, Scott-Heron recorded the extraordinary Pieces Of A Man, featuring classics including ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ and ‘Lady Day And John Coltrane’.

His final Flying Dutchman album, Free Will, was his most political work yet, combining powerful songs with the uncompromising spoken-word pieces that had become his trademark. Though these albums achieved only modest sales on their original release, they have since been recognised as foundational works whose influence continues to resonate across music and culture.

This 3CD set gathers the complete Flying Dutchman recordings in definitive form, presenting the earliest and most important chapters of Scott-Heron’s remarkable career.