I don’t know why I bought Best of Bill Withers: Lean on Me, although I’m almost positive that this Gap commercial had something to do with it.
Yup, that was back when the Gap was actively trying to court patrons of color. But that’s a digression for another day.
Getting back to my point, this album wallowed in the collection because frankly I’ve never found the occasion to bust out the Bill Withers. If fact, I don’t even know if such an occasion exists, so it might not be 100 percent my fault.
Upon listening to this greatest hits package I found it to be a revelation. All I knew about Bill Withers was from his big hits like, well, “Lean on Me”, so hearing the guy’s range was pretty dope. Sure he’s got milquetoast ballads, but the guy’s voice could make ad jingles sound soulful, so tepid tunes are forgivable.
I was pretty shocked at the actual brevity of “Ain’t No Sunshine” which clocks in barely over two minutes—I swore the song was longer than that. Another great short song is “Grandma’s Hands”. It’s a bluesy song about a departed matriarch that really sets a tone and lures the listener in. “Harlem” is another dope song that stands out even among Withers’ more popular work.
Of course “Use Me” and “Who is He (And What Is He to You)” round out the familiar and expected. But all in all, this album was much better than I expected and after a slow first half, the second half is full of head-nod cuts.
