Bill Wither 'bout Love

It's possible to find through-lines of the new romantic strain of pop throughout this Bill Nelson release, with washes of synthesizer and dance-of-electrocution rhythms going on all over the place, but the true fascination is the mix of a post-ironic tone and a cultured sensitivity to art and beauty. While Nelson puts his guitar chops on display periodically through the album (much of it with E-bow in hand), this is far from being a guitar album - all of the disparate elements are too well-integrated for any to assume a point of focus. There is a sweetness and a lightness to a great deal of the work Nelson put into this album, and this makes it infinitely listenable. In some respects, this is also a record that will teach listeners everything they need to know about Bill Nelson - it touches on all aspects of what he does.

Few singers have possessed a baritone as rich and comforting as that of Bill Withers. Even smaller in number are the songwriters who have shared the West Virginian's natural ability to articulate a comprehensive range of emotions and perspectives – jubilation and gratitude, jealousy, and spite – with maximal levels of conviction and concision. Late to arrive, the everyman R&B paragon had just turned 33 when "Ain't No Sunshine," the unfading ballad off Just as I Am (1971), made him a sudden and unlikely success story, within one year an aircraft mechanic-turned-million-selling, Grammy-winning artist. Through the next ten years, Withers continued to meld soul, gospel, folk, and funk with rare finesse. He collected more gold singles with "Lean on Me" and "Use Me," both off the similarly successful Still Bill (1972), reached the same height with Menagerie (1977), led by "Lovely Day," and was handed a second Grammy for "Just the Two of Us" (1981), his collaboration with Grover Washington, Jr. Early to leave, Withers made his last statement with Watching You Watching Me (1985), closing a songbook that has served as a bountiful resource for artists from a multitude of stylistic persuasions. Given his flowers before his death at the age of 81, Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Silent Circle is a German Eurodisco band that was formed in 1985. It has three members, vocalist Martin Tychsen (Jo Jo Tyson), keyboardist & composer Axel Breitung, and drummer Jürgen Behrens (CC Behrens)…

There is a strange but beautiful irony that occurs when an artist writes a great song upon the death of a loved one. Doubtful that Brian Culbertson was aiming for one of Somethin' Bout Love's (Atlantic) most emotionally rich tunes when he wrote the powerful gospel of "I'm Gonna Miss You" for his late manager Howard Lowe II, but he and co-writer/vocalist Lori Perry achieve just that. Unlike similar tunes in American culture that come across as generic, the poignant lyrics are specific to the artist-manager relationship, adding to the tune's uniqueness.