Encouraging Words (Remastered)
Billy Preston
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| Name | Artist | Time | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 |
Right Now | Billy Preston | 3:16 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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2 |
Little Girl | Billy Preston | 3:32 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Use What You Got | Billy Preston | 4:23 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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4 |
My Sweet Lord | Billy Preston | 3:23 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
|
5 |
Let the Music Play | Billy Preston | 2:44 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
The Same Thing Again | Billy Preston | 4:36 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
|
7 |
I've Got a Feeling | Billy Preston | 2:53 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
|
8 |
Sing One for the Lord | Billy Preston | 3:49 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
|
9 |
When You Are Mine | Billy Preston | 2:47 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
|
10 |
I Don't Want You to Pretend | Billy Preston | 2:38 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
|
11 |
Encouraging Words | Billy Preston | 3:36 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
|
12 |
All Things (Must) Pass | Billy Preston | 3:44 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
|
13 |
You've Been Acting Strange | Billy Preston | 3:34 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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14 |
As Long As I Got My Baby | Billy Preston | 2:43 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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15 |
All That I've Got (I'm Gonna Give It to You) | Billy Preston | 3:35 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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16 |
How Long Has the Train Been Gone | Billy Preston | 3:19 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
| Total: 16 Songs |
Album Review
Encouraging Words was about as fine an album as Apple Records ever issued by anyone who wasn't a member of the Beatles, and it's also better than many of the Apple albums issued by the ex-bandmembers; but it's also among the most obscure of any album that the label ever issued by a major artist — without a hit single to drive its sales, the LP never did more than brush the very bottom of the charts, and it was quickly lost amid the financial collapse of the label and the implosion of the Beatles' business ventures; even many Billy Preston fans never had a chance to find out it was there, obscured as it was by his subsequent chart success with "Outta Space" on the A&M label. A bold and searing effort mixing gospel, soul, and rock sounds about as well as any record cut that year, Encouraging Words lived up its killer musical pedigree, partly an offshoot of the evolution of the Let It Be and All Things Must Pass albums, and of sessions that Preston and George Harrison had produced for Doris Troy; but it also picked up where Preston's playing for Ray Charles had left off in 1968. The surging, soaring blues "The Same Thing Again," and the driving rocker "You've Been Acting Strange," both Preston originals, were worth the price of the album, but for those requiring familiar fare, Preston's renditions of "My Sweet Lord," "All Things (Must) Pass," and "I've Got a Feeling" are here too, the first two as stunning gospel numbers (the second with some gorgeous jazz and classical embellishments) that make the Harrison versions seem pallid; and the latter a delightfully funky rendition that makes the Beatles' recording sound like a classy demo; and for truly, delightfully strange sound amalgams, "Sing One for the Lord" manages to couple soaring gospel with some loud lead guitar and a piano part derived from Tchaikovsky (at least according to the annotator — this reviewer would have said Grieg).
Customer Reviews
A Classic
This soul/pop classic oozes passion and inspiration on these funky, a** kicking cuts. It's clear that Preston was soaking up all the energy from the "scene" at Apple, with George Harrison recording his epic first solo record, and sharing many of Harrison's friends as studio musicians( Clapton! )Preston is at his finest as musician( this thing is a master course in Hammond organ), vocalist and interpreter of other's songs. When Preston lets out a Gospel style shout of "I'm so glad!" over George Harrison's All Things Must Pass you know you're hearing something special. A special album of soul mastery.
If it's your thing
If you like that strings/Clapton/McCartney sound... well, technically Harrison produced it... but you know if you like this kind of thing or not. Every other song is a cover so it's kind of like that local band... hey, wait, that's me...
One Of Billy's Best
The sample of "Let The Music Play" should start right from the beginning. That staccato cascade of notes he's playing sounds effortless, but it's the best keyboard man of his time along with his friend George Harrison on guitar assisted by Eric Clapton and Delaney Bramlett. The real "sixth Beatle"--Klaus Voorman--on bass. Ringo Starr on drums. Listen to the piano and organ work on "Let The Music Play." There was only one person you could go to for that level of virtuosity, energy, soulfulness, and pure joy: Billy Preston.
The song-writing is uneven, but the mediocre is eclipsed by the good. I don't know why "The Same Thing Again" hasn't been tried by more contemporary singers. It's the blues, but its composition, arrangement, and the stellar performance make it a classic. Aspiring musicians should learn it; it'll come in handy some day. Same to a lesser extent with "You've Been Acting Strange."
The reviewer is right in rating this among the best Apple Records offered. The reputation of "Encouraging Words" is going to rise as more people hear these songs and come to love them as I do.
(Tavares had a minor hit with their version of "Little Girl." Billy borrowed the bridge--music and lyrics--from "All That I've Got" for the bridge to "Sometimes I Love You" on his later "The Kids And Me" album for A&M.)
Biography
Born: September 2, 1946 in Houston, TX
Genre: R&B/Soul
Years Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s
