Customer Reviews

Ultimate Collection

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Billy Preston was called the "Fifth Beatle" because of the session work he did with the Fab Four towards the end during the recording of "Let It Be" and "Abbey Road." While I think that in the long run producer George Martin better deserves the title, it is certainly true that no other musician was featured as prominently on Beatle songs; Eric Clapton only did that one awesome guitar bit on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and Mick Jagger was just singing with a bunch of other folks on "All You Need Is Love." The Beatles were just another stop on Preston's rise to the top of the charts. He was a child prodigy who was playing keyboards with the great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson when he was only ten and who played the young W. C. Handy in the Hollywood bio-pic "St. Louis Blues" in 1958. He even was a regular on the televiison show "Shindig." But working with the Beatles got him his own album with Apple gave him the foundation for his own hits such as "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Outa-Space," the first two tracks on this hits collection.

The cover of the "Ultimate Collection" shows the Billy Preston everybody remembers, with the giant afro and the omni-present grin. These 20 tracks provide the music we remember as well, with the dazzling keyboard work. The coverage of Preston's entire career is pretty balanced, paying equal attention to the early funky stle of "Outa-Space" and "Slaughter," along with his own version of the Beatles' hit "Get Back," as well as the smoother soul style of his duets with Syreeta, "With You I'm Born Again," "Go for It," and "One More Time for Love." Of course, his best song in this style, "You Are So Beautiful," was a monster hit for Joe Cocker. However, this equal treatment sort of makes it inevitable that you will like one style more than the other (I like the early stuff a lot better). Either way, you will find enough tracks to your liking to make picking up this "Ultimate Collection" worthwhile. Note: The reason for the live recording of "That's the Way God Planned it" is because the original was recorded for Apple and some sort of licensing restrictions apply. Billy Preston did not end up as a major artist, but he was a major player

This is the only CD you need in your collection for Billy Preston. It has all his best work. Of course, "will it go 'round in circles" and "nothing from nothing" are two fabulous hits which don't seem nearly as dated as other music from the early 70's. The CD also presents some other intersting numbers from Preston that sound like some sort of "techno-funk" if there is such a thing.

I grew up in the "hood", San Francisco Haight & Fillmore. My fond memories of growing up around music from Billy Preston. I couldn't dance then and still can't but I can't stay on the wall when a Billy Preston song comes on, suddenly my legs get to moving and I can't sit. Went to a Billy Preston concert this past weekend in Santa Cruz. I sat still this time because I was watching my 6 & 8 yr old daughters groovin to his tune. They couldn't sit still, they were up doing the same thing I did when I heard Billy the first time around. His music is Timeless!!!

This is a good album. There are three or four songs that are reminiscent of that 70's disco era which I think are dated but then there are the awesome tunes like Outa-Space and Will It Go Round In Circles, and the beautifully done Blackbird. I could swear I hear Stevie Wonder on harmonica in Will It Go Round In Circles. I bought the album because I wanted Outa-Space and I've felt more than once that it was money well spent.

This collection is a great start into Billy Preston. A man with many faces and a tremendous stage presence, it is hard to collect a body of material to represent him. But I believe they've done a good job with what they have on this cd.
The case is typical, nice. The cover art and liner notes are really great... good pics showing various stages of this performers career.
The remastering here is really good, nice sound.
This is a tidy little package for those who want to hear Billy at his best and a great start for those who don't know him.
Worth every penny.

Billy Preston possessed the talent to perform just about any song and make it his own because of his uncanny ability to "feel" every type of music. Yes, it WAS impossible to pigeonhole Billy Preston--but that's just why he was so great!

The CD track set begins with his awesome "Will It Go Round In Circles."
Listen for some great piano, brass and drums. Billy never sounded better and his excellent diction bolsters his fine performance! "Outa-Space" boasts one of the funkiest 1970s arrangements I've ever enjoyed-- this will make you feel like getting up and dancing this minute! Great electric guitar; and the drums also carry the bulk of the melody.

"That's The Way God Planned It" gives us a live track recorded by Billy Preston in concert; sure, it may be because of some clause in a recording contract but you're bound to enjoy this rarely released live track! Billy could truly lead his audiences wherever he wanted them to go. "That's The Way God Planned It" mixes a gospel flavor with a rock sound that makes this number irresistible! "Space Race" reverts back to that funky 1970s rock and disco beat with some great sound effects to make this funky number shine like gold! I predict that you will like "Space Race" very much.

"Nothing From Nothing" gives us Billy singing a song about relationships in life; and he sings this very well. The piano, drums and guitar carry the melody well; and this compliments Billy's vocals very nicely. In addition, "You Are So Beautiful" gets the royal treatment from Billy and his band as he bats this one straight out of the ballpark for one great big grand slam! Billy sings "You Are So Beautiful" with sensitivity, heart and soul. The backup chorus makes this number even better! "With You I'm Born Again" again features Billy performing a tender love ballad with a nice slow tempo to enhance the natural beauty of this ballad. Billy does "With You I'm Born Again" with Syreeta; and this comes from the movie Fast Break. Great!

The liner notes offer us an informative, lengthy essay about Billy and his music; and we get some great photos of Billy, too. We also get the song credits with the chart dates for each song.

Billy Preston could do anything he set his mind to do; and this CD proves it beyond doubt. I highly recommend this for Billy's fans and everyone who likes good, quality music from the 1970s to very recent years.

The great Billy Preston has left us on Tuesday, June 6, 2006, and with his passing, the music world loses a stellar talent who besides his legendary stint with the Beatles during the 'Get Back' sessions (later to become the 'Let it Be' album) and appearances on various Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton albums, was a very diverse, soulful, funky, just downright amazing talent in his own right. If you had to get one Billy Preston album, make it this -- it has the big hits "Will it go 'round in Circles" and "Nothing From Nothing" (great early '70s classics), the instrumentals "Space Race" and "Outa Space" which many will remember was used as the music on Soul Train, his original "You Are So Beautiful" which of course Joe Cocker made into a classic, a live version of "That's the Way G*d Planned It" (for the best version of that song - go straight to George Harrison's 'the Concert for Bangladesh', preferably the DVD - the man practially steals the show with just this one performance!) and plenty other tracks besides that show off the musical brilliance and showmanship that was Billy Preston. The 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' movie in 1978 was largely an embarassment and a flop, but his version of "Get Back' was pretty good (that he played on the Beatles' original track, at least he had a head start!)

Fans of soul, rock, late 60s/early 70s music should get this collection - it will go 'round in circles on your CD player time and again!

"Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin', you gotta have somethin', if you wanna be with me..." - when this Billy Preston song (a former Number 1 hit single) comes on, suddenly my legs get to moving and I can't sit. It's a proud song, not arrogant - why he should be shy, anxious, modest, submissive, obsequious? Billy's success: He played piano supporting the Beatles and Ray Charles, Mahalia Jackson and Little Richard, the Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, The Jackson Five, Sly and the Family Stone, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Quincy Jones - who could present such a list of sessions? Nevertheless his self-confidence swells not too risky, he feels how dangerous overweening self-conceit could be - tantalized in the very near of pop-music-idols: "I'm not tryin' to be your hero, because that zero, is too cold for me, brrr - I'm not tryin' to be your highness, because that minus, is too low to see, yeah ..." Maybe you remember the movie "Let It Be" and Billy performing as part of the Fab Four during their historic rooftop final concert. The stunning, furious, fulminant piano-track in "Get Back" or in "Blackbird" are representative for this period. Billy's keyboard dominance was highlighted recently with the release of the "Let It Be - Naked" album issue: the original tracks - not overlapped by Phil Spector's string-sound-orchestrations. Billy penned the multi-platinum standard "You Are So Beautiful" which was performed by his friend Joe Cocker. Preston also made a appearance in "Blues Brothers 2000" as part of the super group that included Eric Clapton and Stevie Winwood and B.B. King among others. "Don't you remember I told ya, I'm a soldier, in the war on poverty ..." - well, this sort of music will make you rich, not poor and penniless ...

If you have to buy one compilation this year, get this one. It captures much of Billy Prestons best work from 1972 to 1982. Billy Preston was a gifted Piano player and Organist, as well being a talented vocalist. This CD has the marvellous "Will it go round in circles", as well some heavy funk, gospel influenced material and 3 duets with Syreeta, which are more mellow soul. You get 20 tracks and they are all required listening. The CD is pretty well packaged with decent sleeve notes and biographical and recording information (although produced before he died).

He is of course most famous for his playing on the "Let It Be" sessions with The Beatles. However he worked with many other people throughout his career including The Stones and stints with Ringo Starrs all-star Band. One of his later appearances you can buy, was with Eric Clapton on the "One more Car, One more Rider" shows in 2001. He is marvellous on this and the DVD is well worth getting. This CD was put together just before these shows in 2000. Sadly Billy Preston died in 2006 at the age of only 59.

We lost Billy Preston this year. If his death was the first time you had heard of Billy Preston or if his death was simply a reminder that there was this incredible cat called Billy Preston, then pay your respects by listening to this really good compilation of him at his best. You will find the funk, the groove, the smooth side of the roughness, the rough side of the smoothness in this disc. It's infectious and even now as I peck out these words, the rhythms and lead-ins are causing an involuntary tap of my thumb. Let it pour all over you.

Beatles aside, Billy Preston carries the water himself. He commands the grooves from whatever implement works. Whether the Hammond B-3 or Fender Rhodes, Mr. Preston will make you move. The instrumentals with "space" in the titles are nasty corn bread nuggets rubbed up with serious funkness. You will want to say "amen" while at the same time, saying "daa-umn!" Music causing this type of internal conflict MUST be awesome. It is.

god rest his soul