Still Bill

Product Information

Included by The Guardian on its "1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list (2007) as well as in Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die book (2008), its contemporary standing as one of history's most venerated soul efforts eclipses the positive reception it enjoyed in the early ‘70s. This high level of songwriting is sustained throughout the record, making this probably his best album ever. Don't be fooled just by 'Lean on Me', this album contains many other songs in a totally different style.

Music Direct reserves the right to change the terms of this promotion or discontinue this offer at any time. However, out of the three audiophile Bill Withers albums I have ("Just As I Am," Speakers corner and "+'Justments," Vinyl Me Please), this one is the loser of the bunch. Hermann also highlighted the contributions of session musicians from the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, crediting them for having helped Withers develop "a unique style of bluesy funk that was the perfect soundtrack to the emotional drama [that] leaked out from around the corners of Withers' laid-back West Virginia drawl". Its rhythmic fare is equally laidback and invigorating; relaxing and rollicking; eloquent and muscular; soft and tough. as much as I like alternative cover art as much as the next vinyl junkie I will say I strictly grabbed this one bc someone sold it to me for cheap since they didn't like the cover haha.On September 7, 1972, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having recorded at least 500,000 copies sold. Withers approaches the plainspoken insight on “Lonely Town, Lonely Street” and heartbreaking vulnerability of “I Don’t Want You on My Mind” with similar sincerity and straightforwardness.

Still Bill boasts the classic Bill Withers sound: warm and easily accessible, with a depth and complexity that reveals itself over numerous plays.

Withers’ calm, self-assured voice hovers above it all, doubling as a warm blanket that adds comfort and grace to lyrics steeped in maturity, perspective, and compassion. No track better exemplifies those principles than "Lean on Me," a feel-good paean to brotherhood and community that hit No.

Withers' calm, self-assured voice hovers above it all, doubling as a warm blanket that adds comfort and grace to lyrics steeped in maturity, perspective, and compassion. Hoping for better with this Bill Withers, but reading the above it appears to be par for the MFSL course. I did a comparison to USE ME and LEAN ON ME on the Greatest Hits from Mofi and those two tracks are much more dynamic with more bass and really just sound warmer and more appealing to me on the Greatest Hits album. My only minor niggle is that a cd that is in a cardboard sleeve maybe could do with being sent out in sturdier packaging.Side A is crammed full of great material and hit songs like the clarinet driven 'use me' and the gospel pop classic 'lean on me'. In 2020, Still Bill ranked number 333 on Rolling Stone 's revised edition of the " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.