Bill Withers – Still Bill [180g Vinyl LP]

Bill Withers – Still Bill [180g Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: LP, Album, Reissue, Gatefold Sleeve, 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Catalogue Number: MOVLP379
• Barcode: 8713748982546
• Genre: Soul, Funk, R&B
• Label: Music On Vinyl / Sussex / Sony Music Entertainment
• Originally Released: 1972
• Reissue Released: 21 February 2012
• Pressing: 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Bill Withers came to music late and on his own terms. Born in the coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia in 1938, he spent nine years in the US Navy before relocating to Los Angeles, where he worked as a factory mechanic installing toilets at an aircraft plant by day and quietly developing his songwriting in his spare time. His self-financed demos brought him to the attention of Sussex Records, who released his debut Just as I Am in 1971 — a record that announced him fully formed, earning a Grammy for 'Ain't No Sunshine'. Still Bill, recorded during a break from touring in early 1972 and released in May of that year, was the confirmation of everything the debut had promised. Produced by Withers together with his core band — all members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band — and recorded at The Record Plant in Los Angeles, the album reached number four on the US Billboard album chart and yielded two of the defining singles of the decade.

'Lean on Me' went to number one on both the pop and R&B charts in July 1972, its gospel-rooted piano riff and communal lyric achieving the rare feat of feeling simultaneously personal and universal. 'Use Me', released the following August, reached number two on both charts on the strength of Ray Jackson's instantly identifiable clavinet hook and James Gadson's rimshot pattern — one of the most imitated drum figures in soul music. The album's lesser-known tracks are equally strong: 'Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?' is a slow-burning study in jealousy and control, later introduced to a new generation via Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown soundtrack; 'Kissing My Love' opens with one of Gadson's finest drum breaks; and 'Lonely Town, Lonely Street' sets the album's tone immediately with its tough folk-funk string arrangement. Rolling Stone ranked Still Bill at number 333 on their revised 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, and it was included in The Guardian's 1,000 albums to hear before you die.

What sets Still Bill apart from its soul contemporaries is the quality of Withers' self-production and the directness of his voice. Where Marvin Gaye reached for the cosmic and Donny Hathaway for the transcendent, Withers planted himself firmly in the everyday — his lyrics drawn from recognisable human experience, his arrangements purposefully spare and unshowy. The album fuses Philly soul sophistication, Sly Stone-influenced funk, Southern blues, and the acoustic confessional mode of the early 1970s singer-songwriter movement into a sound that belongs entirely to him. Withers was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. He passed away on 30 March 2020.

This Music On Vinyl reissue, released in February 2012 on 180 gram audiophile vinyl, presents the original ten-track album in a gatefold sleeve.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Lonely Town, Lonely Street
2. Let Me in Your Life
3. Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?
4. Use Me
5. Lean on Me

Side B

1. Kissing My Love
2. I Don't Know
3. Another Day to Run
4. I Don't Want You on My Mind
5. Take It All in and Check It All Out

Credits

• Vocals, Guitar – Bill Withers
• Piano, Clavinet, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Horn & String Arrangements – Ray Jackson
• Drums, Percussion – James Gadson
• Bass – Melvin Dunlap
• Guitar – Benorce Blackmon
• Produced by – Bill Withers, Ray Jackson, James Gadson, Melvin Dunlap, Benorce Blackmon
• Engineered by – Bob Hughes, Phil Schier
• Recorded at – The Record Plant, Los Angeles
• Label – Music On Vinyl / Sussex / Sony Music Entertainment