Billy Preston (album)

1976 studio album by Billy Preston

Billy Preston

Studio album by

Billy Preston

Released| 19 November 1976
Recorded| March 1976
Studio| Indigo Ranch, Malibu with the Record Plant Mobile
Genre| Soul, rock
Length| 36:02
Label| A&M
Producer| Billy Preston, Robert Margouleff
Billy Preston chronology
| It's My Pleasure
(1975)  | Billy Preston
(1976)  | A Whole New Thing
(1977)

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Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]

Billy Preston (sometimes referred to Do What You Want) is the eleventh studio album by American soul musician Billy Preston, released in 1976 on A&M Records. It includes the singles "I've Got the Spirit" and "Girl", both of which were top 50 hits on Billboard's Soul Singles chart in the US. Preston recorded the album in Malibu, California in March 1976, shortly before joining the Rolling Stones on their two-month European tour.

The song "Do What You Want" is a remake of the 1969 original from Preston's debut album for Apple Records, That's the Way God Planned It.[2] Two other tracks, "Let the Music Play" and "When You Are Mine", are re-recordings of songs that appeared on Preston's 1970 album Encouraging Words.[3] In a 1974 interview for the NME, Preston said that he and George Harrison, his former producer, were "both convinced that some of those Apple cuts were among the best I've ever done and could still have a chance of being hits. They missed out first time around largely because of the internal dissension at Apple."[4]

## Track listing

[edit]

All songs by Billy Preston, except where noted.

Side one

1. "Do What You Want" – 2:56
2. "Girl" (Preston, Bruce Fisher) – 3:15
3. "Bells" (Preston, Fisher) – 3:20
4. "I've Got the Spirit" (Preston, Doug Jones) – 3:57
5. "When You Are Mine" – 2:48

Side two

1. "Bad Case of Ego" – 2:56
2. "Take Time to Figure It Out" (Preston, Jones) – 3:14
3. "Let the Music Play" (Preston, Jesse Kirkland) – 3:00
4. "Simplify Your Life" (George Johnson, Louis Johnson) – 3:46
5. "Let's Make Love" (Preston, Fisher) – 2:46
6. "Ecstasy" – 4:04

## Personnel

[edit]

* Billy Preston - Hammond organ, piano, organ, Hohner Clavinet, synthesizers, Hohner Pianet, vocals
* Jeff Beck \- lead guitar on "Bad Case of Ego"
* Steve Beckmeier - guitars
* Ollie E. Brown: Drums
* Keni Burke \- bass guitar
* Merry Clayton \- backing vocals
* Olivia Foster - backing vocals
* George Johnson - bass on "Simplify Your Life"
* Tony Maiden - rhythm guitar on "Bad Case of Ego"
* Stephanie Spruill - percussion, backing vocals
* Alvin Taylor \- drums
* Tower of Power Horn Section:

Greg Adams \- flugelhorn, trumpet
Emilio Castillo \- tenor saxophone
Mic Gillette \- flugelhorn, trumpet, piccolo
Steve Kupka \- baritone saxophone
Lenny Pickett \- tenor saxophone

* Malcolm Cecil \- synthesizer programming

Technical

* Norman Seeff \- photography

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Billy Preston at AllMusic
2. ^ Davis, Andy (2010). That's the Way God Planned It (CD booklet). Billy Preston. Apple Records - via AlbumLinerNotes.com.
3. ^ Davis, Andy (2010). Encouraging Words (CD booklet). Billy Preston. Apple Records - via AlbumLinerNotes.com.
4. ^ St. Pierre, Roger (14 September 1974). "Billy Preston: The Busiest Soul In Showbusiness". NME. Available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required).

* v
* t
* e

Billy Preston

Studio albums|

* 16 Yr. Old Soul
* The Most Exciting Organ Ever
* Early Hits of '65
* Wildest Organ in Town!
* Club Meeting
* That's the Way God Planned It
* Encouraging Words
* I Wrote a Simple Song
* Music Is My Life
* Everybody Likes Some Kind of Music
* The Kids & Me
* It's My Pleasure
* Billy Preston
* A Whole New Thing
* Late at Night
* Billy Preston & Syreeta
* The Way I Am
* Pressin' On
* On the Air

Live albums|

* Live European Tour

Singles|

* "That's the Way God Planned It"
* "All That I've Got (I'm Gonna Give It to You)"
* "My Sweet Lord"
* "I Wrote a Simple Song"
* "Outa-Space"
* "Slaughter"
* "Will It Go Round in Circles"
* "Space Race"
* "Nothing from Nothing"
* "Get Back"
* "With You I'm Born Again"

Songs|

* "Sing One for the Lord"
* "The Duck"
* "You Are So Beautiful"

Related|

* St. Louis Blues
* "Get Back" (Beatles single)
* Let It Be
* The Concert for Bangladesh
* George Harrison and Ravi Shankar's 1974 North American tour
* The Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas '75
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)
* Concert for George

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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