BILL WITHERS Still Bill (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab limited edition 10-track stereo LP mastered by Krieg Wunderlich on the Gain 2 System specially plated and pressed at RTI on 180-gram High Definition Vinyl cut at 33RPM. Every facet ofStill Bill radiates honesty truth and emotion. These characteristics – along with Withers strong singing hybrid arrangements and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972. Gatefold picture sleeve individually gold-foil numbered factory sealed inside its perforated-seam loose bag. Recommended) Track Listing: 1/4 / 15 IPS analog copy to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe As it celebrates its 50th anniversary Bill Withers Still Bill remains true to its title – and stands as the greatest male-fronted soul album not made by a singer named Marvin Al Sam James or Ray. Though the saying keeping it real did not exist in popular parlance when Withers released his sophomore effort on Sussex Records no words better capture the musics approach mindset and value. Every facet of Still Bill radiates honesty truth and emotion. These characteristics – along with Withers strong singing hybrid arrangements and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972. Side One 1. Lonely Town Lonely Street 2. Let Me in Your Life 3. Who Is He (And What Is He to You)? 4. Use Me 5. Lean on Me Side Two 1. Kissing My Love 2. I Dont Know 3. Another Day to Run 4. I Dont Want You on My Mind 5. Take It All in and Check It All Out Mastered on Mobile Fidelitys renowned mastering system and pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI Mobile Fidelitys numbered-edition LP of Still Bill gives this lush classic the luxe treatment it has always deserved. Replete with intoxicating detail and depth the collectible reissue zeroes in on the musics crux – Withers unique rich West Virginia-accented voice – while clearing a true-to-the-source path to the extraordinary backing he receives from members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. The diverse spectrum of colors textures and tones Withers captured at the Record Plant can now be experienced for the first time outside the L.A. studio. And the lifelike presence and directness of his singing as well as the smooth glide of his phrasing further elevate the magnificence of the music and underscore why the record Rolling Stone named the 303rd Greatest Album of All Time continues to escalate in stature. After rising into the Top 5 of the Billboard Album charts and attaining gold status within a year of release Still Bill has long been evaluated not by sales – but according to its merit spirit and agelessness. Included by The Guardian on its 1 000 Albums to Hear Before You Die list (2007) as well as in Tom Moons 1 000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die book (2008) its contemporary standing as one of historys most venerated soul efforts eclipses the positive reception it enjoyed in the early ‘70s. Still Bill walks the same hallowed ground as Whats Going On Call Me Night Beat and Genius + Soul = Jazz. Like those landmarks Still Bill plays with a mix of consistency effortlessness and complexity that rewards repeat listening and transcends categorization. In combining four of the eras predominant styles – Philly soul sweaty funk Southern-reared blues acoustic-based folk – and melding them with standout production borrowed from both minimalist affairs and sophisticated singer-songwriter albums Still Bill occupies a distinct universe. Its rhythmic fare is equally laidback and invigorating; relaxing and rollicking; eloquent and muscular; soft and tough. 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. Withers balanced outlook on human desires needs and situations stem from his own existence as a former blue-collar employee who believed his time as a musician would soon end. That grounding forever separates Withers from other contemporary soul greats – and stamps Still Bill with a conversational nature and egoless approachability. I mean look Im really a factory worker said Withers in 1972. Thats a real job. Theres that word again: real. The songs on Still Bill are tethered to modesty and actuality wedded to a belief in simplicity and connected to universal truths that link us all – independent of our economic or social standing. No track better exemplifies those principles than Lean on Me a feel-good paean to brotherhood and community that hit No. 1 on the pop and R&B charts en route to becoming a mainstream staple. Withers approaches the plainspoken insight on Lonely Town Lonely Street and heartbreaking vulnerability of I Dont Want You on My Mind with similar sincerity and straightforwardness. His proclivity for authenticity extends to the records other big hit: the sexual