BILL WITHERS: GREATEST HITS

Performer: Bill Withers
Author: Bill Withers
Number of Records: 1
Label: Original Master Recordings
Media: LP
Genre: Pop/Rock
Year: 2017

Bill Withers crafted a smooth, homey style for just over a decade before retiring from the recording industry to pursue other interests. Despite his brief career, the Los Angeles-based vocalist struck a chord with legends like Booker T. Jones and Stephen Stills on the few albums he made for Sussex Records and CBS, not to mention the millions of listeners who have been won over by instantly famous songs like “Lean on Me,” “Use Me,” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” over the years. The antithesis of the R&B screamers who performed on packed stadium stages, Withers always favored the delicate and vulnerable feelings that form the basis of such seminal albums as Bill Wither’s Greatest Hits. Among the album’s key features are the nervous guitars, the funky bass, the gentle murmur of the strings, the airy backing harmonies, and the unstoppable energy of the drums, which emerge on this reissue with extraordinary clarity and incredible brilliance. Universally praised for its sheer sincerity and compelling conviction, Withers’ music is a delight to the senses on this beautiful album, its enchanting soundscape revealing new and almost unimaginable details with every listen. Amazingly, Withers never achieved anything particularly spectacular with his records. After receiving a proposal from Sussex while working in a toilet seat factory, Withers was taken under the wing of Stax leader Booker T. Jones, who rounded up many of the MG members—including Stills and Jim Keltner—to appear on his protégé’s debut album. Two tracks from those sessions—the Grammy Award-winning “Ain’t No Sunshine” and the heartbreaking “Grandma’s Hands”—are heard here, showcasing Withers’s commanding vocals, pleasingly folksy style, and brilliant phrasing. The album also showcases Withers’s knack for turning biographical vignettes into compelling songs that seamlessly blend pop, gospel, blues, and soul. The most striking evidence of Withers’ penchant for crossover is not in the songs that charted on the pop and R&B charts, but in the very DNA of his best work. Every song on Greatest Hits deserves a full listen. Subsequently covered by the likes of Fiona Apple, Mick Jagger, Isaac Hayes, Alicia Keys, and more, “Use Me” uses a compelling clarinet riff and a fast tempo to express the conflicting emotions of a troubled relationship. Withers again expertly blends sweetness with bitterness on the nimble “Who Is He (And What Is He to You?).” Withers holds a note for 18 seconds on the distinctly Latin-tinged “Lovely Day,” which was such a huge hit that it has been covered and performed by a host of A-list artists, from Diana Ross to R. Kelly. With “Lean on Me” Withers has created a masterpiece that has remained part of the classic American Songbook for over forty years, an unforgettable hymn made immortal by the members of Charles Wright & 103rd Street Rhythm Band. An unmissable point of reference for contemporaries of English soul such as Sam Smith and an ideal continuation of the timeless repertoire explored by Van Morrison, Curtis Mayfield and Al Green, among others, Bill Withers’ Greatest Hits is a must-have in the collection of any self-respecting lover of great music.

Tracklist
Just the Two of Us
Use Me
Ain't No Sunshine
Lovely Day
I Want to Spend the Night
Soul Shadows
Lean on Me
Grandma's Hands
Hello Like Before
Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?