+ 'Justments
Studio album by
Bill Withers
Released1974
Recorded1974
StudioThe Record Plant (Los Angeles, California)
Dijobe Sound (Orange, California)
Bill Withers' home
GenreSoul, funk
Length37:56
LabelSussex
ProducerBill Withers
Melvin Dunlap
James Gadson
Bill Withers chronology
Live at Carnegie Hall
(1973)		 + 'Justments
(1974)		 Making Music
(1975)

+'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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[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

All tracks are written by Bill Withers, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(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 Withers3:16
6."Heartbreak Road" 3:06
7."Can We Pretend"Denise Nicholas3:47
8."Liza" 3:02
9."Make a Smile for Me" 3:14
10."Railroad Man"Melvin Dunlap, Bill Withers6:24

Personnel

  • 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

  • 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

Charts

Chart (1974) Peak
position
Billboard Pop Albums[3] 67
Billboard Top Soul Albums[3] 7

Singles

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 —

References

  1. ↑ Kik, Quint. Bill Withers: + 'Justments > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. 1 2 "Bill Withers US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  4. ↑ "Bill Withers US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
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