Still Bill
Still Bill is the second studio album by American soul singer-songwriter and producer Bill Withers, released in 1972 by Sussex Records. The album was recorded and produced by Withers with musicians from the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. The rhythmic music produced for the record features soul, funk, and blues sounds, and lyrics that explore human nature, emotion, and sex from a middle-class male perspective. It also features some of Withers' most popular songs, including the hit singles "Lean on Me" and "Use Me". A commercial and critical success at the time of its release, Still Bill has since been regarded by music journalists as a highlight of the singer's recording career and a classic of 1970s R&B.
| Still Bill | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1972 | |||
| Studio | The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA. | |||
| Genre | Soul, R&B, funk, blues | |||
| Length | 36:14 | |||
| Label | Sussex | |||
| Producer | Benorce Blackmon, Bill Withers, James Gadson, Melvin Dunlap, Ray Jackson | |||
| Bill Withers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Still Bill | ||||
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Contemporary reception
Still Bill was well received by contemporary critics. Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 1972, Vince Aletti regarded the album as an improvement over Withers' debut, attributing it to the singer's production, which sustains even the less exceptional songs. "On the whole", Aletti wrote, "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."[1] Billboard hailed it as justification of the critical hype behind Withers' first album and live performances, while observing "plenty of sunshine" in the music, highlighting "Lean on Me", "Who is He (And What Is He to You)", "Kissing My Love", and "Lonely Town, Lonely Street".[2] In Creem, Robert Christgau gave the record a B-plus and said, "Withers has created the most credible persona of any of the new middle-class male soul singers, avoiding Marvin Gaye's occasional vapidity, Donny Hathaway's overkill, and Curtis Mayfield's blackness-mongering. He sounds straight, strong, compassionate. This album moves out rhythmically, too, yet in the end he's still missing some essential excitement."[3]
The album produced two hit singles: "Lean on Me", which went to number 1 on the Billboard pop and R&B charts in summer of 1972; and "Use Me", which went to number two on the same charts in fall of 1972.[4] On September 7, 1972, Still Bill was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[5]
Reappraisal and legacy
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [6] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A[7] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [8] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 7/10[8] |
| Mojo | [9] |
| Music Story | [8] |
| MusicHound R&B | 2.5/5[8] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| Uncut | [11] |
Retrospective appraisals of the album have also been positive. Reviewing years later in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Christgau expressed more enthusiasm about the record, saying Withers is "also plenty raunchy and he can rock dead out. The self-production here is adamantly spare, with Ray Jackson furnishing the hook of the year on 'Use Me,' one of the few knowledgeable songs about sex our supposedly sexy music has ever produced."[7] In anticipation of the album's CD reissue by Columbia Records in 2003, PopMatters critic Andy Hermann reviewed the release and called it "essential listening for any fan of early '70s funk and R&B". Hermann highlighted the contributions of session musicians from the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, who 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."[12] Writing for Rolling Stone in 2005, David Wild found the album "finer and funkier" than Just as I Am and "still a stone-soul masterpiece",[10] while Stylus Magazine's Derek Miller called it "a stone-cold, gold-plated soul classic … far and away Withers’ best, and one that stands tall next to monolithic classics like Call Me, Roots, Hot Buttered Soul, and Talking Book." Miller also viewed it as an example of Withers' musical daring, fusing soul, blues, and "muscular funk" into a sound that finds "form between the lines … bound by the heated muscle of its rhythms and the satin berth of its softer moments".[13]
In 2007, Still Bill was included in The Guardian's list of "1,000 albums to hear before you die", with an accompanying essay saying the album "contains two of [Withers'] most epochal and best-loved compositions 'Lean on Me' and 'Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?' but the blend of patient, understated, insistently funky acoustic playing is just as vital."[14] Tom Moon included the album in a similar publication, 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008), citing it as "one of the most eloquent records" of rhythm and blues. "These are shades-of-gray stories, full of a mature understanding of human nature", Moon observed, before concluding that, "even when reflecting on weighty matters, Withers cultivates a mood of unflappable calm, making everything sound like a lazy summer evening on the front porch."[15]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Bill Withers, except where noted.
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Personnel
- Bill Withers – vocals, guitar, acoustic piano (5), acoustic guitar (11, 12)
- Ray Jackson – acoustic piano, clavinet, Wurlitzer electric piano, horn and string arrangements
- Benorce Blackmon – guitar
- Melvin Dunlap – bass guitar
- James Gadson – drums, percussion
- Bobbye Hall – percussion (11, 12)
Production
- Bill Withers – producer (1-12)
- Ray Jackson – producer (1-12)
- Benorce Blackmon – producer (1-10)
- Melvin Dunlap – producer (1-10)
- James Gadson – producer (1-10)
- Bob Hughes – engineer
- Phil Schier – engineer, remixing
- Michael Mendel – art direction
- Maurer Productions – art direction
- Milton Sincoff – package design
- Hal Wilson – photography
2003 Reissue Credits
- Leo Sacks – producer
- Steve Berkowitz – A&R
- Darren Salmieri – A&R coordinator
- Joseph M. Palmaccio – mastering
- Lisa Buckler – product manager
- Maurice Joshua – product manager
- Triana D'Orazio – packaging manager
- Howard Fritzon – art direction
- Tim Morse – design
- Harry Goodwin – photography
- Bob Gruen – photography
- Michael Ochs Archive – photography
- SMP/Globe Photos – photography
- Bill Withers – liner notes
- Studios
- Recorded at The Record Plant (Los Angeles, California).
- Bonus Tracks recorded live at Carnegie Hall (New York City, New York).
- 2003 reissue mastered at Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York).
Charts
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Soul Albums[16] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop Albums[16] | 4 |
| Canadian RPM 100 Albums[17] | 71 |
References
- Aletti, Vince (June 8, 1972). "Bill Withers: Still Bill". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved October 1, 2007.
- "Album Reviews". Billboard. May 13, 1972. p. 51. Retrieved September 10, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Christgau, Robert (August 1972). "The Christgau Consumer Guide". Creem. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- "Still Bill > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles" at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011.
- "American certifications – Bill Withers – Still Bill". Recording Industry Association of America.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bill Withers: Still Bill > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 22, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- "Still Bill". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- "Review". Mojo. August 2003. p. 114.
- Wild, David (May 5, 2005). "Bill Withers: Still Bill". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007.
- "Review". Uncut. February 2003. p. 92.
- Hermann, Andy (January 23, 2003). "Bill Withers: Still Bill". PopMatters. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- Miller, Derek (July 26, 2005). "Bill Withers - Still Bill - On Second Thought". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- "Artists beginning with W". The Guardian. November 22, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- Moon, Tom (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener's Life List. Workman. p. 871. ISBN 076113963X.
- "Still Bill > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
- "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. archived at Library and Archives Canada (Volume 18, No. 14). November 18, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
