album rating: ★★★★★
Genre: Soul / R&B / funk / blues. Bill Withers's second album — recorded less than a year after his acclaimed debut Just as I Am — is the record that confirmed him as one of the most important voices in early 1970s American music. Unlike his debut, which was produced by Booker T. Jones, Still Bill was self-produced by Withers in close collaboration with his live band, the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band: guitarist Benorce Blackmon, bassist Melvin Dunlap, drummer James Gadson, and pianist and arranger Ray Jackson. The production is deliberately spare and direct, built around the warm interplay of the ensemble and the immediately recognisable quality of Withers's voice — deeply soulful, conversational, and morally centred. The album's two defining songs are 'Lean on Me', which became a gospel-inflected anthem of solidarity, and 'Use Me', a funk groove of unusual sophistication about desire and need. Also present are the slow-burning 'Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?' and 'Kissing My Love'.
Label: Sussex Records (USA), 1972.
Producers: Benorce Blackmon, Bill Withers, James Gadson, Melvin Dunlap and Ray Jackson (collective self-production). String and horn arrangements by Ray Jackson.
Recording studio: Record Plant, Los Angeles, California, USA. Lacquer cut at Sterling Sound.
Critical reception: Still Bill was praised on release. Vince Aletti in Rolling Stone regarded it as an improvement on the debut, commending the production. Billboard called it a justification for the critical hype surrounding Withers. Robert Christgau gave it a B+ in Creem, praising Withers's 'most credible persona of any of the new middle-class male soul singers.' In retrospective assessments, the album's reputation has grown enormously. Rolling Stone ranked it number 333 on its 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. David Wild of Rolling Stone called it 'a stone-soul masterpiece'; Stylus Magazine called it 'far and away Withers' best'. It was included in The Guardian's list of '1,000 albums to hear before you die.'
Commercial success: Still Bill was certified gold by the RIAA on 7 September 1972. 'Lean on Me' reached number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Soul Singles chart in July 1972. 'Use Me' reached number 2 on both charts later that year. Both are among the most sampled songs in hip-hop history. The album remains one of the canonical R&B recordings of the decade.
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