Bill Withers - The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums (2012) [9CD Box Set] Re-up

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Bill Withers - The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums (2012) [9CD Box Set] Re-up

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Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums celebrates the timeless artistry of an American master. The set includes the nine albums that Bill released between 1971 through 1985. The albums have been reproduced in their original jackets and have been newly mastered from the original analog tapes by Grammy Award-winning engineer Mark Wilder. Bill Withers is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the recipient of ASCAP's 2006 Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award. His warm, rich and truthful voice speaks to real people, and real life, and he will tell you that it's more important to be real than to be rich.
He was 30 years old when he came out of the U.S. Navy in 1971. He made a living installing toilets in commercial jetliners, and then he decided to give music a try. His first two albums Just as I Am and Still Bill - featured "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean on Me." The two singles sold more than a million copies each, and by the time he played Carnegie Hall in 1973, Bill Withers was acknowledged as a great American troubadour. Four decades later, his music still resonates with originality and universality.

~ amazon

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Bill Withers - The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums (2012) [9CD Box Set] Re-up

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It didn’t hurt that Bill Withers had musicians playing on his album that read like a who’s who throughout his career: Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & The MG’s); Stephen Stills (Crosby, Stills, & Nash); James Gadson, Ray Jackson, Melvin Dunlap, and Benorce Blackmon (The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band); Dorothy Ashby; Keni Burke; Ralph MacDonald; Ray Parker; Paulinho da Costa; Paul Jackson, Jr.; David Foster; and Greg Phillinganes. Take all of that away, however, and you’re still left with a collection of tunes crafted by a songsmith whose insight into the life of the everyman is as honest as it is reflective. While his name may not be one of the first that rolls off the tongue of a modern-day artist or even the casual music listener, you can be sure that his pen has sparked the creativity of any number of songwriters and touched the hearts and minds of music lovers around the globe.

Perhaps as unassuming as any music star has ever been, Withers virtually walked away from the major label music game over 25 years ago, with his final full length, Watching You Watching Me, being released in 1985. For a period of 8 years, however, between 1971 and 1978, he released an album a year. His debut album, Just As I Am, was issued when he was 30 years old, an age that was old for a new music act even during a time when there was less of a focus on image than there is today. Featuring 12 tracks with topics ranging from failed relationships (“Hope She’ll Be Happier”) to a man discovering he has a daughter he didn’t previously know about (“I’m Her Daddy”), it covers a breadth of material showing Withers as a writer wasn’t going to pigeonholed strictly as a lover man. Four minutes of music from two short songs – “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands” – covers a lifetime of deep-rooted human experience. The former, of course, is a ’70?s radio favorite and one of the most covered tunes of all time, but the latter is a love song paying homage to Withers’ grandmother. With a line like “If I get to heaven I’ll look for grandma’s hands,” it’s readily apparent how important of a role model she was to him.

While much of his album catalog has been readily available, thanks in part to 3 album reissues of his final Sussex album (+’Justments) his first two Columbia entries (Making Music and Naked & Warm) from Reel Music, it’s his final two albums (‘Bout Love and Watching You Watching Me) that haven’t been available for a long time on CD. And while those final albums aren’t as highly revered as his initial output, it’s those two that may well drive fans to this set.

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Even though 9 discs compose this collection, it’s not a full Withers discography. Missing is “Just The Two Of Us” with Grover Washington, a one-off 45 entitled “USA” from 1981, a stunning demo called “Rosie” that was included on a reissue of Menagerie several years ago, and a few other select collaborations. Still with those small shortcomings, it’s the most inclusive single package of Withers’ material and at a retail price of $65 through PopMarket, it’s one of great value at approximately $7 per title. Add in a foreword and collected commentary from Bill Withers himself and an essay from Michael Eric Dyson, a noted author, professor, and political analyst, and it’s a set complemented with as much as written thought as it is with musical content.

Even though he peaked on the charts around the end of his tenure on Sussex, albeit with a brief return with a top 10 R&B hit in 1977 with “Lovely Day,” he never lost his penchant for crafting a heartfelt tune. To try to define his career based on chart success, however, would be a foolish stance. With one listen to “Stories” from +’Justments, you get an idea of his immense talent. The opening music bed of harp and piano laid down by Dorothy Ashby and John Barnes, respectively, is lush and provides a dreamy backdrop for vignettes of a widow, prostitute, and a lost young man. The bridge perhaps sums up Bill Withers’ writing best:

Young and old we all have stories
That we all must try to sell
Tales of how you get to heaven
And how we’ve been through hell

by Eric Luecking

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Bill Withers - The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums (2012) [9CD Box Set] Re-up

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In a career laden with highlights and hallmarks in the annals of soul history, Just as I Am gets rather overlooked as one of the best soul debuts ever issued. Remastered and repackaged as a part of Sony's DualDisc series, Just as I Am gets cleaned up and presented to a new generation of listeners who may have missed out the first time. And with this remastering comes an intimacy, warmth, and immediacy to the recordings that was only hinted at with previous versions; it's almost as if Withers is in a living room singing to a small group of people, rather than making a record. Of course, the instantly recognizable anthem "Ain't No Sunshine" gets all of the acclaim it so richly deserves, but tracks like "Harlem" and "Better Off Dead" also warrant kudos for the intensity and maturity of their performances. Even when he's doing covers, Withers treats them as if they are his own compositions and handles them with great delicacy. And while the audio performances are top-notch, the new documentary on the making of the record, as well as rare performances of "Ain't No Sunshine," "Ain't Her Daddy," and "Harlem" are the icing on the proverbial cake. Kudos to Sony for not only reissuing a long lost masterpiece, but for doing it in such a classy fashion.

by Rob Theakston

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Bill Withers came into his own on his third album, Still Bill. Released in 1972, the record is a remarkable summation of a number of contemporary styles: the smooth soul coming out of Philly, smoky, late-night funk via Bobby Womack, bluesy Southern soul, and '70s singer/songwriterism. It's rich, subtly layered music, but its best attribute is that it comes on easy, never sounding labored or overworked. In fact, it takes several spins of the album to realize just how versatile Withers is on Still Bill, to hear how he makes intricate, funky rhythms sound as effortless and simple as the album's best-known song, the gospel-tinged inspirational anthem "Lean on Me." That's the genius behind Withers' music: it's warm and easily accessible, but it has a depth and complexity that reveals itself over numerous plays – and, given the sound and feel of the music, from the lush arrangements to his comforting voice, it's easy to want to play this again and again. Then there's the quality of the songwriting, which is as assured on the grooving "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" as it is on the suspicious, paranoid "Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?" or "Use Me," where he happily submits to being used by his object of affection. This high level of songwriting is sustained throughout the record, making this the greatest testament to his considerable gifts.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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A wonderful live album that capitalizes on Withers' trademark melancholy soul sound while expanding the music to fit the room granted by a live show. Lovely versions of "Grandma's Hands" and "Lean on Me" are balanced by heartfelt downbeat numbers like "Better Off Dead" and "I Can't Write Left-Handed," the latter being an anti-war song with a chilling message. The set finishes off with the lengthy "Harlem/Cold Baloney," with lots of audience-pleased call-and-response going on. One of the best live releases from the '70s.

by Steven McDonald

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Back in March 2004 music magazine Mojo included Withers' fourth album on a list of "67 Lost Albums You Must Own." Whether 'Justments is indeed the stuff of legend remains debatable. Surely no holy grail like the similarly mentioned Cold Fact by Sussex labelmate Sixto Rodriguez, it seems at least unfairly ignored. Nothing here might be as compelling as "Grandma's Hands" or "I Can't Write Left-Handed," but there are plenty of melancholy reflections from a genuine soulman who came across more as a West coast singer/songwriter. Replacing the hired hands of his debut with former employees of Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band proved equally important in shaping Withers' identity. Not only had they been instrumental in creating a landmark with his second album Still Bill, follow-up Live at Carnegie Hall showed how easily they could replicate their unrestrained approach on-stage, performing quite a few tunes which hadn't yet appeared on a studio album. This experience further tightening a natural combination, the band was set for Withers' third studio album. The moody overtones of 'Justments suggest both band and singer might have suffered a bit from fatigue, a notion not altogether far-fetched since they would dissolve upon completing it. Not even Spanish minstrel Jose Feliciano could rescue a song like "Railroad Man" from getting stuck in a not unpleasant but ultimately unrewarding jam mode. Still, a few gems are worth mentioning. The spine-tingling string sections for "You" and "Ruby Lee" for instance invoke the memory of Still Bill's intriguing "Who Is He and What Is He to You." The former would be released as a single and crack the Top 15 R&B chart, as would "Heartbreak Road" and "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh." The demise of Sussex led to both the labels' catalog and Withers himself being transferred to Columbia. Though some of its feel would always shine through his releases for his new employer, 'Justments stands out for being the last album where the artist's unique character takes the foreground rather than being mostly left to drown in a glossy production. Thus, while its "lost album" status is mostly due to it being out of print for ages, in a just world it would be re-released back to back with 1975's Making Music. This just might turn out historically interesting, as it would document Withers' evolution towards the guilty pleasure of "Lovely Day."

by Quint Kik

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It can prove somewhat difficult to place Bill Withers among his peers. Despite a brief revival thanks to Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, he will always remain something of an outsider to the soul movement. Starting out as an aircraft mechanic for the Navy, his performing career happened more or less by accident. Surprised to be invited to re-record his own demos – a modest Withers had intended his songs for others – he came forth with two brilliant albums chock-full of intriguing stories on mournful alcoholics, adulterers, and his late grandmother's hands. His exceptional talent as a storyteller placed him perhaps more in league with West Coast singer songwriters like Stephen Stills, who helped out on his debut, Just as I Am. A Vietnam chant, "I Can't Write Left Handed," placed him further apart as a socially conscious performer. The accompanying album, Live at Carnegie Hall, makes clear Withers is about total commitment to the music and music alone. Once called "the poet Stax never had" by onetime producer Booker T., his influence on artists like Ben Harper and Erykah Badu is not to be taken lightly. Much of the above can be said about Making Music. Because of the regretful demise of Withers' original label, Sussex, his fifth album was released on Columbia. It possesses the same down-to-earthiness and eye for ordinary day life as his former releases, though the production sometimes trades the organic "feel" for the familiar "end of the '70s slickness." He's excused since at least he didn't turn disco! No dancing across the floor for Bill: friends and family is what remains important to him, as becomes evident from the portrait on the album cover's backside and in songs like "Family Table" and "Don't You Want to Stay." Even when a song does not seem to have a subject but itself ("Sometimes a Song"), Withers and band deliver it with an urgency that would make Barry White shiver. To stay on the subject: instead of White wondering "what he's going to do with you," wouldn't you rather have Withers "Make Love to Your Mind"?

by Quint Kik

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A terrific album,one of the finest albums of his career and the one that really gave him a whole new style of sound on Columbia. He's using his same group from the previous album Making Music. Although his lyrics still explore that human sense of world weariness as before,he is now fully involved of the musical attitudes of the era. Even as far back as "Use Me" Bill Withers sound has ALWAYS been funky. But I cannot say he'd ever recorded what I'd describe as an all out funk album. So I guess this would probably count as Withers first concentrated effort in that form. That focus on the spesific type of groove along with the strong writing made this out in the end to be one of Wither's finest (and often least sung) records.

The first four songs here are pretty much flat out funky splendor. "Close To Me",the title song,"Where Are You" and "Dreams"-with their stop/start drumming,phat bass licks and multi hued Moog lead/bass textures are…well the closest type of funk in terms of musical sound I could compare these two would be something like the music of Herbie Hancock's Secrets album of this same vintage,only with vocal parts. "If I Didn't Mean you Well" and "I'll Be With You" add what I'd describe as a more pop/R&B flavor for a funky soul type sound. There's also the road worn jazz-funk epic "City Of Angels",describing the difference in emotional flavor of cities in different areas of America. And the song transforms into a rhodes piano led tone poem expressing with sound the lyrics of the song. The impressionistic effect continues on into "My Imagination",the one song here closer in style to his earlier material.

With it's emphasis on glossier production values and mid 70's electronic-funk styles it has the effect of bringing out the richness of Bill's singing and his songwriting. The cover art,depicting Bill as what looks to be the black American equivilent of Johnny Appleseed has plenty of meaning to what this represents himself,not to mention his coy facial expression. While he's expanding himself outward musically here,he's still every bit as in control of how his songwriting and music are being presented. So it's apparent his choice to dive into the waters of the contemporary funk sound of the era was a purely creative and far less a market driven choice for him. But people have frankly cared too much about the motivation behind music than the music itself in recent decades anyway. So what matters here is how strong and beautifully funky this whole album is.

By Andre S. Grindle, amazon

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Following the twin peaks of Still Bill and Live at Carnegie Hall in the early '70s, Bill Withers had a little trouble sustaining his peak of creativity, along with his chart positions. He still made good music and had hits, but had trouble delivering a consistent album that brought him back to the heights of his Sussex work. Finally, in 1977, he delivered Menagerie, an assured return to form by one of soul's greatest singer/songwriters of the '70s. If Menagerie doesn't have the earthiness or consistent brilliance of Still Bill, it nevertheless has a solid set of songs and an easy, relaxed charm that is thoroughly winning. Where his Sussex material was slyly eclectic, touching on a number of different styles, this album is more cohesive, a smooth album that points the way toward quiet storm while retaining a warm soulfulness, largely due to Withers' wonderful voice. Even when the tempo gets sprightly, as on "Lovely Night for Dancing," there's a relaxed vibe and a nice sheen to the production that keeps things even-handed and easy. As such, those listeners who preferred the darker undercurrents that ran through such songs as "Use Me" and "Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?" may find this a little too amiable, but that's just a matter of taste – this is an easy record to like, after all, with a consistent tone and a soothing vibe, plus a good set of songs. If it's not as distinctive as his Sussex records, it's nevertheless an undeniable high point in his catalog.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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Bill Withers collaborated with keyboardist/arranger/songwriter Paul Smith on this engaging set issued. Still Bill offers his usual mellowness and down-home sincerity on such cuts as "All Because of You," "Dedicated to You My Love," and the brotherly love-themed "Look to Each Other for Love." There are surprising up-tempo tracks like the horn-punctuated Top 30 R&B lead single "Don't Make It Better," and the back-alley funk of its follow-up, "You Got the Stuff," with its squishy, cartoonish vocoder-generated background vocals. "Love Is" and "All Because of You" are on Ain't No Sunshine issued by BMG International on February 29, 2000. "Love Is" was covered by dance artist Gino Soccio on his S Beat LP.

by Ed Hogan

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