Bill Withers' Greatest Hits

A part-smoked Sobranie cigarette with lipstick on the filter tip perched on a fancy ashtray; a single long-stemmed red rose; a bottle of costly-looking booze (cognac?) and a glass poured from it; a cup of coffee and something resembling a half-eaten chocolate truffle; two glasses of Dom Perignon champagne, one of them, again, marked with lipstick; and the open champagne bottle and its cork; a bowl of beluga caviar; a single uneaten prawn; and a pair of high-heeled shoes. Exactly how these these signifiers of affluence and romance relate to the music on Bill Withers' Greatest Hits (1981) isn't obvious, but it is an interesting and eye-catching cover design.

I was familiar with the biggest of these hits: 'Just The Two Of Us', 'Ain't No Sunshine', 'Lovely Day' and 'Lean On Me', from radio play back in the '70s and '80s, but at that time these songs, as with most soul music, seemed as if it were a language I didn't quite understand and I was unable (or unwilling) to properly appreciate. It wasn't until I started listening to The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show on BBC 6 Music on a regular basis eight or nine years ago that my comprehension of it, and, consequently, my appreciation, began to grow; along with a measure of chagrin for having overlooked its pleasures for so long. 'Use Me' and 'Grandma's Hands' were two more Withers tunes that Charles often played, and I grew to love.

Not knowing Withers' œuvre in any more depth, this compilation has served as an ideal entry-point: I've played it often. I found my vinyl copy last year in the bargain bin at the market stall outside Shire Hall in Monmouth - it's in great condition and I think it only cost £2 or £3, so I was surprised to see it valued rather more highly than that on Discogs.

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