Billy Preston • Encouraging Words

 

Review by Bruce Eder
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). [The 2010 reissue of Encouraging Words was remastered by the same Abbey Road team who remastered the acclaimed 2009 Beatles reissues and was expanded by three bonus tracks: the previously uneleased “How Long Has the Train Been Gone,” the scrapped B-side “As Long As I’ve Got My Baby” and “All That I’ve Got (I’m Gonna Give To You),” cowritten by Doris Troy.] 
https://www.allmusic.com/album/encouraging-words-mw0000618856

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Reseña de Bruce Eder
Encouraging Words fue uno de los mejores álbumes que Apple Records publicó de alguien que no fuera miembro de los Beatles, y también es mejor que muchos de los álbumes de Apple publicados por los exmiembros de la banda; pero también es uno de los álbumes más desconocidos que el sello discográfico publicó de un artista importante: sin un sencillo de éxito que impulsara sus ventas, el LP nunca pasó de rozar la parte más baja de las listas y se perdió rápidamente entre el colapso financiero del sello y la implosión de los negocios de los Beatles; incluso muchos fans de Billy Preston nunca tuvieron la oportunidad de descubrirlo, ya que quedó eclipsado por su posterior éxito en las listas con «Outta Space», publicado por el sello A&M. Encouraging Words, un trabajo audaz y conmovedor que mezcla gospel, soul y rock tan bien como cualquier otro disco grabado ese año, estuvo a la altura de su impresionante pedigrí musical, en parte como resultado de la evolución de los álbumes Let It Be y All Things Must Pass, y de las sesiones que Preston y George Harrison habían producido para Doris Troy; pero también retomó el trabajo que Preston había dejado en 1968 cuando tocaba para Ray Charles. El blues arrebatador y vertiginoso «The Same Thing Again» y el rockero «You've Been Acting Strange», ambos originales de Preston, ya valían el precio del álbum, pero para aquellos que buscaban temas más familiares, las versiones de Preston de «My Sweet Lord», «All Things (Must) Pass» y «I've Got a Feeling» también están aquí, las dos primeras como impresionantes temas gospel (la segunda con algunos magníficos adornos jazzísticos y clásicos) que hacen palidecer las versiones de Harrison; y la última, una interpretación deliciosamente funky que hace que la grabación de los Beatles suene como una elegante demo; y para amalgamas sonoras verdaderamente deliciosas y extrañas, «Sing One for the Lord» consigue combinar un gospel ascendente con una guitarra solista potente y una parte de piano derivada de Tchaikovsky (al menos según el comentarista; este crítico habría dicho Grieg). [La reedición de 2010 de Encouraging Words fue remasterizada por el mismo equipo de Abbey Road que remasterizó las aclamadas reediciones de los Beatles de 2009 y se amplió con tres temas extra: el inédito «How Long Has the Train Been Gone», la cara B descartada «As Long As I've Got My Baby» y «All That I've Got (I'm Gonna Give To You)», coescrita por Doris Troy]. 
https://www.allmusic.com/album/encouraging-words-mw0000618856

Tracks:
1 - Right Now 3:15
2 - Little Girl 3:31
3 - Use What You've Got 4:22
4 - My Sweet Lord 3:23
5 - Let The Music Play 2:43
6 - The Same Thing Again 4:36
7 - I've Got A Feeling 2:52
8 - Sing One For The Lord 3:49
9 - When You Are Mine 2:44
10 - I Don't Want You To Pretend 2:35
11 - Encouraging Words 3:32
12 - All Things (Must) Pass 3:45
13 - You've Been Acting Strange 3:24
 - Bonus Tracks    
14 - As Long As I Got My Baby 2:42
15 - All That I Got (I'm Gonna Give It To You) 3:34
16 - How Long Has The Train Been Gone 3:17


Credits:
    Coordinator – Allan Rouse
    Design [Redesign] – Darren Evans (2)
    Photography By – Richard Polak
    Producer – Billy Preston, George Harrison
    Reissue Producer – Mike Heatley
    Reissue Producer [Emi Project Manager] – Guy Hayden
    Reissue Producer, Liner Notes, Research [Photo] – Andy Davis (2)
    Remastered By – Guy Massey, Paul Hicks, Steve Rooke
    Research [Photo] – Carl Bigmore, Dorcas Lynn, Jeremy Colebrooke
    Technician [Audio Restoration] – Simon Gibson

Label:    Apple Records – 5099990823923
Country:    Worldwide
Released:    Oct 2010
Genre:    Funk / Soul
Style:    Soul
https://www.discogs.com/release/2587547-Billy-Preston-Encouraging-Words?srsltid=AfmBOoom_JZt8R0Q9tBLFH_GA3JcNTHb4803VoOhu5Y7FS6_VThSflSF

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