Still Bill - Bill Withers (1972)
Bill Withers is one of the towering figures of R&B. Having already made a splash with his debut record the year before.
That debut was produced and arranged by Booker T Jones, and the band that played on it was session musicians who had worked with Jones before. As such, while it’s a great record, it does sound a bit like a Booker T record with Withers singing on it.
For the follow-up, Withers recruited several different producers and his hand-chosen band, musicians from the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. The songs were developed on the fly in lengthy full band rehearsal sessions, and were fully formed by the time they got them on tape.
If you’ve heard American music, you’ve certainly heard Lean On Me, one of the 20th century’s most recognizable tunes. But there’s so much more here, particularly in the raw funk of tracks like Use Me Up.
