+'Justments
| + 'Justments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1974 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Studio | The Record Plant (Los Angeles, California) Dijobe Sound (Orange, California) Bill Withers' home | |||
| Genre | Soul, funk | |||
| Length | 37:56 | |||
| Label | Sussex | |||
| Producer | Bill Withers Melvin Dunlap James Gadson | |||
| Bill Withers chronology | ||||
| ||||
+'Justments (pronounced: add justments) is the third studio album by American soul singer-songwriter and producer Bill Withers, released in 1974 by Sussex Records. It contains the hit single, "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" (US #50, Canada #39), which charted during the spring of 1974.
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[2] |
The album cover shows Withers writing the following explanation of the title:
Life like most precious gifts gives us the responsibility of upkeep. We are given the responsibility of arranging our own spaces to best benefit our survival. We have the choice of believing or not believing in things like God, friendship, marriage, love, lust or any number of simple but complicated things. We will make some mistakes both in judgement and in fact. We will help some situations and hurt some situations. We will help some people and hurt some people and be left to live with it either way. We must then make some adjustments, or as the old people back home would call them, + 'JUSTMENTS.
The album features José Feliciano playing guitar on "Can We Pretend" and congas on "Railroad Man". Withers was a guest musician and composer on the 1973 Feliciano album Compartments.
Legal tussles between Withers and Sussex prevented further recording sessions until Columbia signed the singer a year later. Columbia bought Withers' back catalog, re-releasing his earlier hit records, but +'Justments was not reissued on CD until 2010.
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Bill Withers, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You" | 5:18 | |
| 2. | "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" | 3:23 | |
| 3. | "Stories" | 2:42 | |
| 4. | "Green Grass" | 3:08 | |
| 5. | "Ruby Lee" | Melvin Dunlap, Bill Withers | 3:16 |
| 6. | "Heartbreak Road" | 3:06 | |
| 7. | "Can We Pretend" | Denise Nicholas | 3:47 |
| 8. | "Liza" | 3:02 | |
| 9. | "Make a Smile for Me" | 3:14 | |
| 10. | "Railroad Man" | Melvin Dunlap, Bill Withers | 6:24 |
Personnel[edit]
- Bill Withers – lead and backing vocals, guitar (2, 9), acoustic piano (4), electric piano (5, 6, 9)
- Benorce Blackmon – guitar (1)
- José Feliciano – guitar (7), congas (10)
- Ray Jackson – electric piano (1, 2)
- John Barnes – acoustic piano (1, 3), electric piano (4)
- John Myles – electric piano (7, 8, 10), clavinet (10), string arrangements
- Melvin Dunlap – bass (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10)
- James Gadson – drums (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10)
- Chip Steen – congas (5, 10)
- Dorothy Ashby – harp (2, 3, 4, 7)
Production[edit]
- Bill Withers – producer
- Melvin Dunlap – producer
- James Gadson – producer
- Phil Schier – engineer
- Bobby Thomas – engineer
- Carl Overr – art direction
- John Van Hamersveld – design
- Norman Seeff – photography
- Studios
- Recorded at Record Plant (Los Angeles, CA) and Dijobe Sound (Orange, CA).
- Mastered at Artisan Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA).
Charts[edit]
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Pop Albums[3] | 67 |
| Billboard Top Soul Albums[3] | 7 |
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single | Chart positions[4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | Cash Box Top 100 | US R&B |
RPM Magazine | ||
| 1974 | "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" | 50 | 43 | 10 | 39 |
| "You" | — | — | 15 | — | |
| 1975 | "Heartbreak Road" | 89 | — | 13 | — |
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Kik, Quint. Bill Withers: + 'Justments > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Bill Withers US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
- ^ "Bill Withers US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
