The Real

A good compilation that illustrates Bill Withers recording career which ended with his disillusionment with the recording industry. He performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. On this CD, there is all the major songs, some of which are very inspired writings and many are in a class of there own. There is no doubt that Withers was a perfectionist and the musically, he was well ahead of his time. Take 'Grandma's Hands' and all of the early Sussex recordings that feature the acoustic guitar. with and without the lovely string backings (by Booker T. Jones). Disc 1 illustrates some of his great early material. Later on, we get the Columbia recordings which are good but musically, you get the impression that Withers was being pressured by the company to deliver what they wanted and not necessarily the material that he wanted to do. He is a unique artist and sincerely hope that one day, he will surprise the public by releasing some amazing new songs with the poetry and musicality of his 1970's material.

Disc: 1 1. Ain't No Sunshine 2. Harlem 3. Everybody's Talkin' 4. Hope She'll Be Happier 5. Better off Dead 6. In My Heart 7. Moanin' and Groanin' 8. Do It Good 9. Grandma's Hands 10. Let It Be 11. I'm Her Daddy 12. Sweet Wanomi 13. Kissing My Love 14. Another Day to Run 15. I Don't Know 16. Lonely Town, Lonely Street 17. I Don't Want You on My Mind 18. Let Me in Your Life 19. Who Is He (And What Is He to You)? 20. Take It All In and Check It All Out 21. Use Me

Disc: 2 1. Lean on Me 2. World Keeps Going Around 3. Let Us Love 4. Friend of Mine 5. Ruby Lee 6. Green Grass 7. Heartbreak Road 8. The Same Love That Made Me Laugh 9. Make Love to Your Mind 10. I Wish You Well 11. Can We Pretend 12. Hello Like Before 13. Close to Me 14. My Imagination 15. Dreams 16. If I Didn't Mean You Well 17. Naked & Warm

Disc: 3 1. Lovely Day 2. I Want to Spend the Night 3. Tender Things 4. Let Me Be the One You Need 5. Lovely Night for Dancing 6. You 7. Don't It Make It Better 8. You Got the Stuff 9. All Because of You 10. Watching You Watching Me 11. Something That Turns You On 12. You Try to Find a Love 13. Steppin' Right Along 14. Heart In Your Life 15. Oh Yeah!