Just as I Am (Bill Withers album)
Just As I Am is the debut studio album of American soul musician Bill Withers, released in 1971 on Sussex Records. The album features the hit single "Ain't No Sunshine", which was ranked at number 280 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[9] The album is also known for featuring the single "Grandma's Hands," which reached number 18 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart and 42 on the Billboard Hot 100.[10] Booker T. Jones produced, arranged, and played keyboards and guitar on Just As I Am, alongside bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn and drummer Al Jackson Jr. of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, with Stephen Stills on lead guitar. The album was later reissued as a dual disc with a second disc featuring all the tracks in 5.1 Surround Sound.
| Just As I Am | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Studio | Sunset Sound and Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Soul, folk | |||
| Length | 35:46 | |||
| Label | Sussex | |||
| Producer | Booker T. Jones | |||
| Bill Withers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Just As I Am | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz | (favorable)[1] |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A–[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[4] |
| PopMatters |  [5] |
| Sputnikmusic | (4/5)[6] |
| Uncut | [7] |
| Uptown | (A)[8] |
In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 304 in their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[11]
Critical reception
Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote:[3]
With faultless production from Booker T.—even the strings are taut—this is an unusually likable and listenable middlebrow soul LP. As befits a strummer of acoustic guitars, Withers is more folk than pop, and when he adds folk seriousness to a gospel fervor surprising in such an apparently even-tempered man, he makes titles like 'I'm Her Daddy' and 'Better Off Dead' take on overtones of radical protest where other singers would descend into bathos. I don't find that even standout cuts like 'Ain't No Sunshine' and 'Grandma's Hands' reach out and grab me, but except for a letdown toward the end of side two the flow sustains.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Bill Withers; except where indicated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Harlem" | 3:23 | |
| 2. | "Ain't No Sunshine" | 2:04 | |
| 3. | "Grandma's Hands" | 2:00 | |
| 4. | "Sweet Wanomi" | 2:34 | |
| 5. | "Everybody's Talkin'" | Fred Neil | 3:26 |
| 6. | "Do It Good" | 2:53 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hope She'll Be Happier" | 3:49 | |
| 2. | "Let It Be" | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | 2:35 |
| 3. | "I'm Her Daddy" | 3:17 | |
| 4. | "In My Heart" | 4:20 | |
| 5. | "Moanin' and Groanin'" | 2:59 | |
| 6. | "Better Off Dead" | 2:16 |
Chart history
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Black Albums[12] | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop Albums[12] | 39 |
| Canadian RPM 100 Albums[13] | 37 |
Personnel
- Bill Withers – guitar, vocals
- Stephen Stills – guitar
- Booker T. Jones – guitar, keyboards, arrangements
- Donald Dunn – bass guitar
- Chris Ethridge – bass guitar
- Jim Keltner – drums
- Al Jackson Jr. – drums
- Bobbye Hall – percussion
Production
- Booker T. Jones – producer
- Bill Halverson – engineer
- Bill Lazerus – engineer
- Jim Golden – remixing
- Sam Feldman – mastering at Bell Sound Studios (New York City, New York).
- Norbert Jobst – design, photography
- Bill Withers – sleeve notes
References
- Santella, Jim (16 December 2005). "Bill Withers: Just As I Am". AllAboutJazz.com. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- Unterberger, Richie. "Bill Withers: Just As I Am > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 22, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- Endelman, Michael (5 December 2005). "Just as I Am (2005): Bill Withers". Entertainment Weekly. Time (#853). ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- Layman, Will (14 November 2005). "Bill Withers: Just As I Am". PopMatters. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- "Bill Withers Just As I Am". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- "Bill Withers - Just As I Am". Uncut. London: IPC Media. ISSN 1368-0722. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- "CD Reviews". Uptown. Winnipeg: Fanfare Communications Group. 1 December 2005. Bill Withers Just As I Am. ISSN 1180-9906. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006.
- "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow (Special Issue). December 2004. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006.
- "Bill Withers | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
- Rolling Stone (September 22, 2020). "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- "Just As I Am > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. archived at Library and Archives Canada (Volume 16, No. 5). 18 September 1971. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
