Product Description

Not only does STILL BILL capture Bill Withers's excellent playing and singing and his seemingly effortless synthesis ofsoul, folk, gospel, and funk, it is packed front to back with some of the best songs he ever wrote (and there were a good many of them). His most popular and best-known tune is here, the stirring, hymn-like "Lean On Me" (it was a #1 hit for Withers at the time, and has been further popularised in several cover versions). Also here is "Use Me", another hit, which boasts a twist on traditional love songs with a gutsy,syncopated rhythmic drive that is nearly irresistible.
Yet everything else on the album holds up to the strength of these singles. The slinky, suspicious "Who Is He (And What Is He To You)", the smooth, lover man soul of "Let Me In YourLife", the jazzy, hi-hat driven funk of "Another Day To Run" all go down perfectly. This is due mostly to Withers's subtle, organic sound and warm, soulful voice-- the album is sopleasurable to listen to it is easy to overlook the superior quality of the songs and the complex, layered arrangements. STILL BILL is one of those records that always sounds good: played loudly or quietly, day and night, summer and winter. It is endlessly playable, and one of the unjustly overlooked singer/songwriter albums of the '70s or any era.

Track Listing

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
6. Kissing My Love
7. I Don't Know
8. Another Day To Run
9. I Don't Want You On My Mind
10. Take It All In And Check It All Out
11. Lonely Town, Lonely Street (Live)
12. Let Me In Your Life (Live)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70390 in Music
• Released on: 2003-03-03
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Brutally Good...!
You'd be hard pressed to select a better soul/hymnal/funk album. Every song brings it's very own feeling that has you doing everything from, snapping your fingers and bobbing your head, to sitting back deep to take it all in.

Timeless, this trully is a must have. His voice is every bit as delicate and powerful in the live track recording 'Lonely town, lonely street' as it is on all the mastered tracks, emphasising the depth, range and the sheer quality of his voice.

Use me has you from the first drop and keeps you riding its relentless beat till the end, while its clever lyrical play on 'love' draws you in, its quite simply gripping in everyway. Beautifully written, wonderfully scored. Just how Bill Withers has been overlooked I will never know perhaps thats part of his allure, but I will never put this album back on the shelf!!!

Umar
35ydbeatexperiment

100% Classic
A truly great ALBUM, not some collection of a few singles with a load of filler - every song's a winner, I cannot pick favourites, though Lean On Me is one of the best songs ever recorded by man! Its funky, but not overpolished, though the production values are very high, Bill's singing is superb, there are big ballads which don't suck, the down-home philosophising isn't cringeworthy but actually worth thinking about - all of it just works. I have an earlier re-issue of this - the photo showing Bill looking very 'Man at C&A' - but he's so cool he even pulls that off - he is the funkiest dude ever to wear a sportsjacket! And could you ask for a better recommendation than that?