William Bell

Many of Stax's releases in its final years were dull soul. But by the standards of the era, William Bell's second-to-last Stax LP was an above-average affair that was more diverse than many such efforts of the time. The three songs he co-wrote with guitarist Horace Shipp Jr. were socially conscious tunes in a different bag than the straightforward romantic odes Bell usually purveyed. "Save Us" was indebted to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On era, with a Philly-influenced funk/soul groove, and "Fifty Dollar Habit" was, of course, about drug use. Elsewhere, Bell stuck mostly to love songs, self-penned and otherwise, getting into a pre-disco lope on the title track, with the sweet soul balladry of "What I Don't Know Won't Hurt Me" and "If You Really Love Him," and the light, reggae-influenced rhythms on "Lonely for Your Love." [The album is now available as part of a reissue that combines Phases of Reality and Bell's final Stax LP, 1974's Relating, onto a single CD.] ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide