BILL WITHERS Still Bill VG+ 1972 Sussex SXBS-7014 1ST MONARCH Lean On Me

$

43

Vinyl:  VG+ Play Graded. Sounds Very Good!  Sussex Labels are Clean and Bright.  This is the Original 1972 Sussex 1ST Pressing!  SXBS-7014.  This is the audiophile acclaimed pressing, Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC and pressed at Monarch Records Mfg. Corp., Los Angeles, CA!  Bill's Finest Hour!  Has the megahits "Lean On Me", "Use Me", as well as lesser known gems "Who Is He and What Is He To You?", and "Let Me In Your Life".  Bill was a "regular guy" before he laid this one down and then a legend.  He has a crack funk band behind him.  Dig it.    allmusic gives it 5 stars!!!
See Review Below!
In the Dead Wax:  Side 1:  SXBS-7014-A-4  MR  ((Monarch Records Mfg Corp., Los Angeles, CA))  "delta" 16938 (4)  STERLING ((Sterling Sound, NYC))
Side 2:       SXBS-7014-B-4  MR  ((Monarch Records Mfg Corp., Los Angeles, CA))  "delta" 16938-X (4)  
Cover: VG+ (see photos) Trifold Cover.  Includes company inner sleeve.  Nice gloss on cover.  Front and back of cover artwork and text are rich, clear and bright, with some minor shelf and ring wear. Seams, corner and spine are solid and clean, with some minor wear.  No splits.  No writing.   Spine print is clear.  

Goldmine Standards.   I play grade every record that I sell on eBay as I have found you can't rate an LP accurately by just visually inspecting an album.  I wipe the dust off of every cover with clean, unscented baby wipes.  I professionally clean the vinyl.  (I also operate a Vinyl Record Cleaning business for your dusty/dirty records--if interested, send me a message).

U.S. Shipping:  $4 Media Mail.  Tracking included.   50 cents additional shipping per additional item, when the shipment is combined.   If you wish to take advantage of my COMBINED SHIPPING deal, simply select your items by clicking on "ADD TO CART" on the main listing page.  Do this for all of your selections and then go to your cart to checkout. Your combined shipping discount will be computed automatically.  Free domestic shipping if you spend $100 or more!  
All records are packaged securely with the vinyl outside the jacket (to avoid seam split in transit). The vinyl and jacket are sandwiched between two cardboard stiffeners and shipped in a custom cardboard record mailer box. 
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Why buy a first or early pressing and not a re-issue or a ‘re-mastered’ vinyl album?  First and early pressings are pressed from the first generation lacquers and stampers. They usually sound vastly superior to later issues/re-issues (which, in recent times, are often pressed from whatever 'best' tapes or digital sources are currently available) - many so-called 'audiophile' new 180g pressings are cut from hi-res digital sources…essentially an expensive CD pressed on vinyl.  Why  experience the worse elements of both formats?  These are just High Maintenance CDs, with mid-ranges so cloaked with a veil as to sound smeared.  They are nearly always compressed with murky transients and a general lifelessness in the overall sound.  There are exceptions where re-masters/re-presses outshine the original issues, but they are exceptions and not the norm.  First or early pressings nearly always have more immediacy, presence and dynamics. The sound staging is wider.  Subtle instrument nuances are better placed with more spacious textures. Balances are firmer in the bottom end with a far-tighter bass. Upper-mid ranges shine without harshness, and the overall depth is more immersive.  Inner details are  clearer.   On first and early pressings, the music tends to sound more ‘alive’ and vibrant.  The physics of sound energy is hard to clarify and write about from a listening perspective, but the best we can describe it is to say that you can 'hear' what the mixing and mastering engineers wanted you to hear when they first recorded the music.   

llMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine  [-]

Bill Withers came into his own on his third album, Still Bill. Released in 1972, the record is a remarkable summation of a number of contemporary styles: the smooth soul coming out of Philly, smoky, late-night funk via Bobby Womack, bluesy Southern soul, and '70s singer/songwriterism. It's rich, subtly layered music, but its best attribute is that it comes on easy, never sounding labored or overworked. In fact, it takes several spins of the album to realize just how versatile Withers is on Still Bill, to hear how he makes intricate, funky rhythms sound as effortless and simple as the album's best-known song, the gospel-tinged inspirational anthem "Lean on Me." That's the genius behind Withers' music: it's warm and easily accessible, but it has a depth and complexity that reveals itself over numerous plays -- and, given the sound and feel of the music, from the lush arrangements to his comforting voice, it's easy to want to play this again and again. Then there's the quality of the songwriting, which is as assured on the grooving "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" as it is on the suspicious, paranoid "Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?" or "Use Me," where he happily submits to being used by his object of affection. This high level of songwriting is sustained throughout the record, making this the greatest testament to his considerable gifts.