Bill Withers - Still Bill (Hybrid SACD)
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Bill Withers – vocals, guitar, acoustic piano (5) [click here to see other vinyl featuring Bill Withers]
Ray Jackson – acoustic piano, clavinet, Wurlitzer electric piano, horn and string arrangements
Benorce Blackmon – guitar
Melvin Dunlap – bass guitar
James Gadson – drums, percussion
Music by Bill Withers (1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-10), Stan McKenny (3)
Lyrics by Bill Withers (1-2, 4-5, 6-7, 9-10), Stan McKenny (3), Benorce Blackman (8)
Hybrid SACD, Gatefold Digisleeve
Limited numbered edition
Original analog Master tape : YES
Stereo
Studio
Label : MOFI
Original Label : Sussex
Recorded at The Record Plant (Los Angeles, California)
Engineered by Bob Hughes & Phil Schier
Mixed by Phil Schier
Produced by Bill Withers, Ray Jackson, Benorce Blackmon, Melvin Dunlap, James Gadson
Originally released in May 1972
Reissued in September 2023
Tracks:
- Lonely Town, Lonely Street
- Let Me In To Your Life
- Who Is He (And What Is He To You)?
- Use Me
- Lean On Me
- Kissing My Love
- I Don't Know
- Another Day To Run
- I Don't Want You On My Mind
- Take It All In And Check It All Out
Awards:
Included in the 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)
Reviews :
“Bill Withers came into his own on his third album, Still Bill. Released in 1972, the record is a remarkable summation of a number of contemporary styles: the smooth soul coming out of Philly, smoky, late-night funk via Bobby Womack, bluesy Southern soul, and '70s singer/songwriterism. It's rich, subtly layered music, but its best attribute is that it comes on easy, never sounding labored or overworked. In fact, it takes several spins of the album to realize just how versatile Withers is on Still Bill, to hear how he makes intricate, funky rhythms sound as effortless and simple as the album's best-known song, the gospel-tinged inspirational anthem "Lean on Me." That's the genius behind Withers' music: it's warm and easily accessible, but it has a depth and complexity that reveals itself over numerous plays -- and, given the sound and feel of the music, from the lush arrangements to his comforting voice, it's easy to want to play this again and again. Then there's the quality of the songwriting, which is as assured on the grooving "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" as it is on the suspicious, paranoid "Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?" or "Use Me," where he happily submits to being used by his object of affection. This high level of songwriting is sustained throughout the record, making this the greatest testament to his considerable gifts.” AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
“Bill Withers has a rough, unexceptional sort of voice and he sings like a truckdriver, banging out the hot numbers with a resonant holler or treating ballads with a warm, conversational ease. He has no time for pretty effects and this simple, straightforward approach–reflected in his lyrics as well as his singing–is clearly his most attractive quality. With no pretense to being "down to earth," he is just that–a rarity on a scene where flashy arrogance is still the popular pose. Withers' first album, Just As I Am, established him as a voice and as a songwriter, primarily with the touching "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Grandma's Hands." But while it had a solidity and realness and a sprinkling of star credits (producer Booker T. Jones, Duck Dunn, Chris Ethridge, Steven Stills), the album lacked a certain confidence and verve. The latest effort, Still Bill, has those missing qualities in abundance–just see what a little success can do.
This time Withers took on his own production, working with a core group of four musicians. Withers on acoustic guitar remains in the front of most arrangements and, though it is largely uninventive strumming, his unpolished work, like his voice, is turned to his advantage and offset nicely by the punch of the backing instruments. On the final cut, "Take It All In And Check It All Out," for instance, the persistence of Bill's strumming which opens up the song is pierced and threaded by the sly, needling comments of Benorce Blackman on wah wah guitar. Elsewhere, the strings may come in kind of thick and syrupy but, oddly enough, do little to mar the determinedly unfussy surface of the album.
Where some of the songs seemed to languish, unrealized, on Just As I Am, the material here is so buoyed up by the production that even minor pieces achieve a satisfying fullness. Among the most successful cuts: "Use Me," rumbling along on a tough electric piano pattern (Ray Jackson feeling like Stevie Wonder) and fine, tight percussion (James Gadson), sets Withers shouting, "I want to spread the news/if it feels this good getting used/you just keep on using me–/until you use me up." "Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?" has an equally insinuating sound, more guitar-based this time (and the strings could easily have been dispensed with). The only lyric here not Withers' own, it's a neat, witty examination of jealousy that Bill carries with just the right tone of suspicious accusation–"You tell me men don't have much intuition/Is that what you really think or are you wishin'?"
The light, mellow "I Don't Know" is typical of Withers' simple, quite effective love songs: "I get a warm summer feeling walking througy the snow/Even chilly darkness has the brightest glow." Not a particularly "clever" or innovative songwriter, Withers' strength lies in his directness and ability to invest even the most "inarticulate" lines with a precise emotional weight: "And I just love you so, sometimes I just don't know."
On the whole, it's a tougher, more relaxed, more assured album than Withers' first effort. Nothing is thrown away; everything works with an unexpected clarity and strength. In the man's own words, you ought to take it all in and check it all out.” Vince Aletti, Rolling Stone N°110
Ratings :
AllMusic : 5 / 5 , Discogs : 4,4 / 5