Bill Withers Live At Carnegie Hall (2 LP)

Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall on Numbered Limited Edition 180g 2LP from Mobile Fidelity!
Stupendous 1973 Concert Set Ranks Alongside James Brown's Live at the Apollo and B.B. King's Live at the Regal!
Easygoing Portrait of Down-Home Soul Singer Coming Into His Own and Establishing an Indelible Bond Between Performer and Audience.
Mastered From the 1/4" / 15 IPS / Dolby A Analog Master to DSD 64 to Analog Console to Lathe: Mobile Fidelity Takes You Inside the Famed Venue and Lets You Be a Part of the Event.
None other than Booker T. Jones produced the debut album of singer and guitarist Bill Withers for Stax Records in 1971. The 'Architect of Memphis Soul' helped Withers directly to a chart success: "Ain't No Sunshine" helped him to break through and achieved gold status. In the course of his career, many more hits followed, including the unforgettable "Lean on Me" and "Use Me". In 1973, Withers and his band played a concert at Carnegie Hall, which is now one of the jewels among the live albums of the 60s and 70s.
Withers shows maturity and vulnerability on stage. In his songs, he deals with heavy topics such as poverty, war, adulthood, but also friendship, family and love - with the greatest possible lightness, directness and without preaching. His voice is as relaxed as it grooves, his band a perfect unit. Bill Withers' Live at Carnegie Hall rivals the likes of James Brown's Live at the Apollo and B.B. King's Live at the Regal. A must-have for any record collection.
The mastering for Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab was done by Krieg Wunderlich, the reissue will be released as a 33-rpm double 180g vinyl LP in a gatefold cover with sequential serial number in a limited edition.
On par with the most treasured concert albums of the '60s and '70s, Bill Withers' transformative Live at Carnegie Hall is a forgotten classic—an easygoing portrait of an a down-home soul artist coming into his own in front of an audience eager to share every moment of his brilliance. Soothing with subtlety, charming with calmness, and healing with a vocal timbre as relaxing as his grooves, Withers uses the stage to expand the range of favorites and engage in dialog with the crowd. Distinguished with sonics that restore the performances' balance and improve the soundstaging, this reissue takes you inside the venue.
Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed on 180g 2LP at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 2LP set of this extraordinary 1973 record 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.
Moreover, aspects that really make this concert document unique—the energetic crowd, Withers and his band's willingness to extend arrangements, and the undeniable communicative bond between the performer and his fans—are brought into fuller relief. While most live albums give you the sense of what transpired, Mobile Fidelity's reissue allows it to seem that what you're hearing and sensing is happening right now, in the moment. You are as much a participant as listener. For this reason and more, Live at Carnegie Hall ranks with James Brown's Live at the Apollo and B.B. King's Live at the Regal. No small claims, but the proof is in the grooves.
The antithesis of the sweaty R&B shouter that prowls the edge of stages, Withers deals in mellowness and vulnerability, qualities that come to fore. The songs here span soul, blues, and folk and often times, contain elements of all three styles. Live at Carnegie Hall also deals with serious subject matter with unflinching honesty and simple directness. Companionship, poverty, war, maturity, family, and love all crop up within Withers' tunes, yet the messages are never overly cumbersome or preachy. Credit goes to his easygoing style and relatable lyrics, not to mention a tight-as-a-vice band that on this night is simply "on."
"One more time?" Withers asks in response to a request for another stanza during "Use Me," and like the snap of fingers, his musicians are right back on cue, the crowd clapping along on every beat. This classic, as well as the instantly familiar "Ain't No Sunshine," poignant "Grandma's Hands," and all-time favorite "Lean On Me" are delivered with utmost soulfulness, passion, and electricity. Few, if any, live albums demonstrate such a bond between the crowd and artist as Live at Carnegie Hall. You'll definitely want to be there. Mobile Fidelity makes it happen.

Features:

• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Specially Plated and Pressed on 180 grams of High Definition Vinyl
• Double LP
• Mastered from the 1/4" / 15 IPS / Dolby A Analog Master to DSD 64 to Analog Console to Lathe
• Mastering by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
• Special Static Free - Dust Free Inner Sleeve
• Heavy Duty Protective Packaging
• Pressed at RTI

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