MOFI Greatest Hits -Sacd/Ltd-

Numbered Limited Edition Hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity Bill Withers' Smooth Soul Voice, Mellow Grooves, and Gospel Accents Inform Beloved Work: Booker T. Jones, Al Jackson, and Stephen Stills Among Guest Instrumentalists on Greatest Hits Essential Bill Withers' Greatest Hits Mobile Fidelity Hybrid SACD Touts Astounding Clarity and Presence: Roots R&B Has Never Sounded Better on Any Pressing Mobile Fidelity's hybrid SACD of the 1981 compilation provides a transparent view of Withers' relaxing timbre and the subtle grooves underlining his arrangements. Characteristics ranging from the tension of the guitars, funky bends of the bass, whisper-soft coo of the formal strings, airiness of the backing harmonies, and sharpness of the snare drum emerge with utmost clarity and lifelike presence. Always prized for its naked honesty and pure conviction, Withers' music positively caresses the senses on this SACD, the unadulterated production and beautiful soundscapes revealed anew with each listen. Incredibly, Withers almost never got a shot at recording. After receiving a deal from Sussex while laboring as a toilet-seat manufacturer, he landed in the care of Stax bandleader Booker T. Jones, who gathered most of his fellow MG members along with Stills and Jim Keltner to assist in Withers' debut. Two takes from those sessions, the Grammy-winning "Ain't No Sunshine" and devotional "Grandma's Hands," are included here, and showcase the vocalist's incredible breath control, folksy drawl, and restrained phrasing. They also indicate his penchant for converting biographical experience into eminently catchy combinations of pop, gospel, blues, and soul. A veritable template for British soul contemporaries like Sam Smith and an extension of the timeless fare explored by Van Morrison, Curtis Mayfield, and Al Green, Bill Withers' Greatest Hits belongs in every music lover's library.