Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)
Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)
EAC Rip | FLAC (Tracks) +CUE, LOG | 432 MB | Covers Included
R&B | Label: Bridle Ridge Records | Catalog Number:none
EAC Rip | FLAC (Tracks) +CUE, LOG | 432 MB | Covers Included
R&B | Label: Bridle Ridge Records | Catalog Number:none
By Gabriel Rich
One thing you can say about Lenny Williams is the man has staying power. At 67 years old, the Oakland, California native has been going strong since the early 1970’s, from his first solo recordings for Fantasy Records, to his stint with Tower of Power, to reinventing himself as a jack-of-all trades soul man in the 1980’s on through to today. Williams has always been one to keep his finger of the pulse of R&B music, and as the times changed, so did he. But unlike a smattering of today’s legendary R&B artists who appear lost as they try to stay current, Lenny never forgot that he’s, well…Lenny Williams. With Lenny, while there might be some compromise in terms of production style, that isn’t the case when it comes to the overall crafting of his songs.
Lenny Williams has a formula for his music. Always did. And he injects that formula into any song he sings, regardless of who wrote and/or produced the track, to make it uniquely his own. That’s the beauty of Lenny Williams, and it’s why he remains as one of the more endearing as well as enduring figures in R&B today.
Lenny Williams’ new CD, Still in the Game, is a testament to his staying power. The 12-track album has a little something for everyone, from contemporary R&B to smooth jazz to down home blues. Actually, Still in the Game evolves from contemporary to old school, but still in a contemporary package, musically speaking. As with many independent albums released by legendary R&B artists, on Still in the Game the keyboard is used to replace horn arrangements, and all too often the drum program can take away from both the song and the artist. Those flaws aside, the album does grow on you as it progresses.
The first two tracks, “Still” and “This Is for the One That Got Away,” are bona fide contemporary R&B songs, the latter, complete with auto-tune. While both are nice enough songs, they don’t fit the life experiences of a 67-year old man, lyrically speaking. But that’s what happens when a song is written by a much younger person in today’s music world. The older artist is usually made to fit the song, and not the song fitting the artist. We see that happening with Charlie Wilson right now in the R&B mainstream. But leave it to Lenny, ever R&B music’s version of an adaptoid, to come in and breathe life into both songs. With both “Still” and “This Is for the One That Got Away,” Lenny is actually competing with today’s R&B new-jacks in their style, but on his level. It takes a man who has been through life’s experiences to turn a contemporary song into something the 40 and 50-somethings will like.
From there, however, Still in the Game, gets more adult, both lyrically and musically. “Where Did Our Love Go” could easily be a spinoff of Lenny’s biggest and most heartfelt hit, “Cause I Love You.” The song certainly flows in that direction, and Lenny even gives a few “Oh-oh-oh’s…” to bring “Where Did Our Love Go” home. On “Happy Man,” Williams provides an Al Green-sequel performance, with a bluesy-soul feel. As on a good Memphis soul song, on “Happy Man” the rhythm guitar gives the song color and feel. “Stepping And Dancing” is just that: a Chicago-styled steppers song that’s good enough to crowd the dance floor. On “Sunshine,” Lenny stays in Memphis blues mode, with a hue of Oakland soul dashed in for good measure. Lenny converts back to the contemporary world, albeit with a mellow feel, on his cover of the Heather Headley hit, “In My Mind.” The song would be A-plus in today’s music world, but it’s still a young person’s song sung by an older gentleman.
On “Grown Man,” however, Lenny Williams is just that: a grown man laying down a grown man’s down home blues song that will drive the patrons in a blues club or liquor house wild. Somewhere, Clarence Carter is applauding the song. Lenny flips the script and goes the smooth jazz route on “On This Day.” The song, featuring smooth jazz sensation Kirk Whalum, delivers to smooth jazz fans what they long for: a jazzy underpinning with experienced, excellent vocal accompaniment. Lenny then turns the corner, heading for the 90’s D’Angelo neo-soul style on “Make Love.”
With the noted exception of rock, there are few music stones left uncovered on Still in the Game. Lenny combines both Motown and Stax on “Good Girl,” which lyrically takes you back to a more innocent music time in the 1950’s and 60’s. The coupe de gras, however, is the final song on the album, “I’m Sorry I Didn’t Know It Was Your Mama,” a down home blues song that’s sure to get you out on the dance floor.
Lenny Williams is ever the chameleon, but in a very good way. And on Still in the Game, he shows the reason for his impressive staying power: he is an artist with the ability to not only adjust with the times, but, more importantly, to make the times adjust to him and his unique gift. Recommended. LW
Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011
EAC extraction logfile from 28. January 2015, 11:39
Lenny Williams / Still In The Game
Used drive : ATAPI DVD A DH16A6L-C Adapter: 2 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\FLAC\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "PERFORMER=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %haslyrics%–tag-from-file=LYRICS="%lyricsfile%"%haslyrics% -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "DISCNUMBER=%cdnumber%" -T "TOTALDISCS=%totalcds%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" %source% -o %dest%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 4:26.35 | 0 | 19984
2 | 4:26.35 | 3:54.73 | 19985 | 37607
3 | 8:21.33 | 6:18.50 | 37608 | 66007
4 | 14:40.08 | 3:30.47 | 66008 | 81804
5 | 18:10.55 | 4:41.04 | 81805 | 102883
6 | 22:51.59 | 3:49.67 | 102884 | 120125
7 | 26:41.51 | 4:12.12 | 120126 | 139037
8 | 30:53.63 | 3:59.39 | 139038 | 157001
9 | 34:53.27 | 4:06.11 | 157002 | 175462
10 | 38:59.38 | 4:55.08 | 175463 | 197595
11 | 43:54.46 | 3:50.72 | 197596 | 214917
12 | 47:45.43 | 3:56.65 | 214918 | 232682
Track 1
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\01 - Still.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 3.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC B98F3C6C
Copy CRC B98F3C6C
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [3269950C] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 2
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\02 - This Is For The One That Got Away.wav
Peak level 96.1 %
Extraction speed 3.8 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC FA046B86
Copy CRC FA046B86
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [4BF54332] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 3
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\03 - Where Did Our Love Go.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 4.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 7EB00EAB
Copy CRC 7EB00EAB
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [3D40F017] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 4
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\04 - Happy Man.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 4.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 32B1E51C
Copy CRC 32B1E51C
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [F2792061] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 5
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\05 - Stepping And Dancing.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 33D22433
Copy CRC 33D22433
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [BF5735EB] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 6
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\06 - Sunshine.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.1 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5607ECE8
Copy CRC 5607ECE8
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [91298E2A] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 7
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\07 - In My Mind.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC B2713668
Copy CRC B2713668
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [7AEEFE15] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 8
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\08 - Grown Man.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.6 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 4C855B15
Copy CRC 4C855B15
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [44404798] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 9
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\09 - On This Day featuring Kirk Whalum.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.8 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 680ABE40
Copy CRC 680ABE40
Cannot be verified as accurate (confidence 1) [838E80BB], AccurateRip returned [8C9C83E6] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 10
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\10 - Make Love.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.2 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 8F6F4A48
Copy CRC 8F6F4A48
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [D2BEA323] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 11
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\11 - Good Girl.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 6.3 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 62490134
Copy CRC 62490134
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [087FBF6E] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 12
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\12 - I'm Sorry I Didn't Know It Was Your Mama.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 6.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 7F19BE2A
Copy CRC 7F19BE2A
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [5BCE21F5] (AR v2)
Copy OK
11 track(s) accurately ripped
1 track(s) could not be verified as accurate
Some tracks could not be verified as accurate
No errors occurred
End of status report
==== Log checksum 0EE592AB97AEACC0B592A4C20EE44F505193B34F71742DF6A8D0FC76B288ED22 ====
EAC extraction logfile from 28. January 2015, 11:39
Lenny Williams / Still In The Game
Used drive : ATAPI DVD A DH16A6L-C Adapter: 2 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\FLAC\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "PERFORMER=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %haslyrics%–tag-from-file=LYRICS="%lyricsfile%"%haslyrics% -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "DISCNUMBER=%cdnumber%" -T "TOTALDISCS=%totalcds%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" %source% -o %dest%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 4:26.35 | 0 | 19984
2 | 4:26.35 | 3:54.73 | 19985 | 37607
3 | 8:21.33 | 6:18.50 | 37608 | 66007
4 | 14:40.08 | 3:30.47 | 66008 | 81804
5 | 18:10.55 | 4:41.04 | 81805 | 102883
6 | 22:51.59 | 3:49.67 | 102884 | 120125
7 | 26:41.51 | 4:12.12 | 120126 | 139037
8 | 30:53.63 | 3:59.39 | 139038 | 157001
9 | 34:53.27 | 4:06.11 | 157002 | 175462
10 | 38:59.38 | 4:55.08 | 175463 | 197595
11 | 43:54.46 | 3:50.72 | 197596 | 214917
12 | 47:45.43 | 3:56.65 | 214918 | 232682
Track 1
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\01 - Still.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 3.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC B98F3C6C
Copy CRC B98F3C6C
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [3269950C] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 2
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\02 - This Is For The One That Got Away.wav
Peak level 96.1 %
Extraction speed 3.8 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC FA046B86
Copy CRC FA046B86
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [4BF54332] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 3
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\03 - Where Did Our Love Go.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 4.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 7EB00EAB
Copy CRC 7EB00EAB
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [3D40F017] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 4
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\04 - Happy Man.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 4.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 32B1E51C
Copy CRC 32B1E51C
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [F2792061] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 5
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\05 - Stepping And Dancing.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 33D22433
Copy CRC 33D22433
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [BF5735EB] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 6
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\06 - Sunshine.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.1 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5607ECE8
Copy CRC 5607ECE8
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [91298E2A] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 7
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\07 - In My Mind.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC B2713668
Copy CRC B2713668
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [7AEEFE15] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 8
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\08 - Grown Man.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.6 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 4C855B15
Copy CRC 4C855B15
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [44404798] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 9
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\09 - On This Day featuring Kirk Whalum.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.8 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 680ABE40
Copy CRC 680ABE40
Cannot be verified as accurate (confidence 1) [838E80BB], AccurateRip returned [8C9C83E6] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 10
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\10 - Make Love.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 5.2 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 8F6F4A48
Copy CRC 8F6F4A48
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [D2BEA323] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 11
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\11 - Good Girl.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 6.3 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 62490134
Copy CRC 62490134
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [087FBF6E] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 12
Filename I:\0\Lenny Williams - Still In The Game (2012)\12 - I'm Sorry I Didn't Know It Was Your Mama.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 6.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 7F19BE2A
Copy CRC 7F19BE2A
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [5BCE21F5] (AR v2)
Copy OK
11 track(s) accurately ripped
1 track(s) could not be verified as accurate
Some tracks could not be verified as accurate
No errors occurred
End of status report
==== Log checksum 0EE592AB97AEACC0B592A4C20EE44F505193B34F71742DF6A8D0FC76B288ED22 ====
Tracklist:
1 Still
2 This Is For The One That Got Away
3 Where Did Our Love Go
4 Happy Man
5 Stepping And Dancing
6 Sunshine
7 In My Mind
8 Grown Man
9 On This Day
10 Make Love
11 Good Girl
12 I'm Sorry I Didn't Know It Was Your Mama