Let's talk about Bill Withers.

What is Still Bill? He's become a theme in this thing I'm writing just now, yet I know very little about him except that he held the longest note on any hit single ('a lovely daaa-aaaaay') until Morten Harket beat his record.

Still Bill is an amazing documentary about where his head is at now.

Got it set to record, thanks for the tip. There's a half-hour Bill Withers In Concert on afterwards too.

get yr 'îron game up, folk-soul

That documentary is so good.

I still have not seen it yet. Must remedy that

I would have liked more focus on the music (and its kinda odd that someone coming to this film completely alien to Withers would probably come away thinking that "Grandma's Hands' was the biggest thing he ever did), but yeah, definitely worth a watch.

that was great. such a good guy ..
and voice is still on the button.
man, he needs to get some of those home demos released.

Yeah, I watched this last night also... by the time it ended, I found myself absolutely full of admiration for the guy. And I've always loved his music.

Haven't watched the doc yet, but I did start my day with the 'live in concert' show that was on immediately afterwards. It was really nice.

http://api.ning.com/files/sDKfZJcDqj5huel7DUYLaQ*c-B7SV7I4kzFSHG1bRbh8F5PeYL-Rh6Q*u1PCNMDmIcz3eg5zjKvb65VvOIZ6N-b*4KMMnTpu/withers.jpg
one of the best live albums of all time

^ absolutely.

thirded

fourthed

What they all said.

sixthded.

I can't imagine anyone hearing that record and not loving it.

I'm surprised this isn't seen as being as canonical as, say, Live At Leeds or It's Too Late To Stop Now. This is beyond captivating from start to finish.

even his chat between the songs is enough to make you fall in love with him.

just watched this documentary on the iPlayer and whoa, that part where he's talking to the children was proper inspiring. Brilliant.

Love Bill but find most live records disposable. How bad do I need to check this out?

I find live records utterly disposable too. This is pretty much the only one that I fuck with.

Well, since looking back over this thread, like one out of every three posts is a rave about Carnegie Hall I'm tossing it on Spotify now, crossing fingers...

just watched this documentary on the iPlayer and whoa, that part where he's talking to the children was proper inspiring. Brilliant.

― boxedjoy, Saturday, 10 March 2012 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm. Loved that bit.

i don't know if it's inspiring so much as that it shows the two sides of him so nakedly. like, he seems a bit uncomfortable with the performance they give for him and that he's worried that he's not responding appropriately but it flips over into empathy.

they show this interesting clip too where he's singing "just the two of us" and he looks totally dead inside.

I don't know, the part where he talks about having to be more forgiving than other people and how it makes for better character seemed like a really positive way to get children who might be victimised to see a way to turn their problems into a sign of strength, that whole part really got to me.

yes, so true.

I don't know, the part where he talks about having to be more forgiving than other people and how it makes for better character seemed like a really positive way to get children who might be victimised to see a way to turn their problems into a sign of strength, that whole part really got to me.

― boxedjoy, Saturday, March 10, 2012 5:14 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, shit was profound. love this guy x1,000,000.

withers is one of those rare dudes who can answer questions off the cuff in fully-turned, beautiful sentences that i would kill to be able to write. i know some people in my personal life who are like that, but the other famous guy who speaks like that is leonard cohen.

Okay since Doctor Casino didn't post again I assume he found the Carnegie Hall album as captivating as the rest of us and is listening to it constantly to the point he can't do anything else.

The documentary is on Netflix Instant BTE.

The preamble to 'Grandma's Hands' reduces me to a blubbering fool EVERY time I hear it...'"I love that old lady...love that old lady"...and don't get me started on the documentary...

the closing jam on harlem/shake 'em on down is so immense. could go on another hour and still be absolutely riveting.

I've always felt Withers was unfairly overlooked in comparison to the Marvin/Stevie/Al/Sly cannon. Ridiculous statements that most of his albums are disposable reinforce that notion. I wrote about that a few years back. I saved it at the end of a more recent piece on 70s soul - http://www.fastnbulbous.com/70s_soul.htm

At least his albums keep getting reissued.

Bill's albums disposable?! Have they heard Just As I Am??

Still Bill is fucking amazing!

Okay since Doctor Casino didn't post again I assume he found the Carnegie Hall album as captivating as the rest of us and is listening to it constantly to the point he can't do anything else.

The documentary is on Netflix Instant BTE.

― Ned Raggett, Monday, March 12, 2012 9:37 AM Bookmark

haha, i got distracted, finally finished listening to it just now. It's great. I need to find a vinyl copy - my tinny computer speakers aren't really doing justice to the warmth and fullness of the sound. Not to mention that the Spotify ads kind of break the mood. But this is a great album.

Still Bill is perfect end to end. "I Don't Want You On My Mind" and "Take It All In..." are some kind mutant folk that haven't been duplicated.

documentary is totally incredible

i love this dude so much

oh yeah live at carnegie hall is my favorite bill withers record, and while i fuck with live records they're rarely my favorites, especially when the dude's adjacent studio work is just massive. alfred otm re: "mutant folk" as a descriptor

Just scored the live album on cd for $5 at Barnes & Noble. Listening now, lives up to the rep.

"...he only said eight words last year, and I think six of 'em were 'airport'".

Cornel West is pretty irritating in this doc

yes but he is maybe in it for all of a minute total

Yeah, the live album is great. I'm sorry that I avoided it all these years.

Grabbed a cheapie Greatest Hits today, and mannn, is it weird to hear these later numbers like "Steppin' Right Along" and "Whatever Happens." They're really kind of listless musically and the canned drums are a huge letdown after the 70s gold. I'm sure quiet storm devotees probably take to this material a little more than I do - the thing is there's still the amazing quality of his voice that almost carries it through. But it's definitely a dropoff.

i think withers himself would admit as much

there's that latter-day TV clip in the documentary still bill where he's lip-synching to one of his later minor hits and he just looks dead inside.

it's not a late minor-hit it's him singing "just the two of us" and it's from the time it was released. it's used to underscore his deep cynicism re. the record industry at that time.

listened to Just As I Am this morning. how many records end with the singer killing himself?

Was talking to a drummer the other day and he was telling me James Gadson was his main man

Still find it kind've mind-blowing that New Zealand's #1 single of 1988, 6 weeks at the top, etc, was a cover of an album cut from his '85 album Watching You Watching Me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8U8FK6wEfc