Bobby Womack - Albums Collection (7CD)

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Bobby Womack - Albums Collection (7CD)

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A veteran who paid his dues for over a decade before getting his shot at solo stardom, Bobby Womack persevered through tragedy and addiction to emerge as one of soul music's great survivors. Able to shine in the spotlight as a singer or behind the scenes as an instrumentalist and songwriter, Womack never got his due from pop audiences, but during the late '60s and much of the '70s, he was a consistent hitmaker on the R&B charts, with a high standard of quality control. His records were quintessential soul, with a bag of tricks learned from the likes of Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, and Sly Stone, all of whom Womack worked closely with at one time or another. Yet often, they also bore the stamp of Womack's own idiosyncratic personality, whether through a lengthy spoken philosophical monologue or a radical reinterpretation of a pop standard. An underrated guitarist, Womack helped pioneer a lean, minimalist approach similar to that of Curtis Mayfield, and was an early influence on the young Jimi Hendrix. Additionally, his songs have been recorded by numerous artists in the realms of both R&B and rock, and the best of them rank as all-time classics.

Bobby Dwayne Womack was born in Cleveland on March 4, 1944. His upbringing was strict and religious, but his father Friendly also encouraged his sons to pursue music as he had (he sang and played guitar in a gospel group). In the early '50s, while still a child, Bobby joined his siblings Cecil, Curtis, Harry, and Friendly Jr. to form the gospel quintet the Womack Brothers. They were chosen to open a local show for the Soul Stirrers in 1953, where Bobby befriended lead singer Sam Cooke; following this break, they toured the country as an opening act for numerous gospel groups. When Cooke formed his own SAR label, he recruited the Womack Brothers with an eye toward transforming them into a crossover R&B act. Learning that his sons were moving into secular music, Friendly Womack threw them out of the house, and Cooke wired them the money to buy a car and drive out to his Los Angeles offices. the Womack Brothers made several recordings for SAR over 1960 and 1961, including a few gospel sides, but Cooke soon convinced them to record R&B and renamed them the Valentinos. In 1962, they scored a Top Ten hit on the R&B charts with "Lookin' for a Love," and Cooke sent them on the road behind James Brown to serve a boot-camp-style musical apprenticeship. Bobby eventually joined Cooke's backing band as guitarist. the Valentinos' 1964 single "It's All Over Now," written by Bobby, was quickly covered by the Rolling Stones with Cooke's blessing; when it became the Stones' first U.K. number one, Womack suddenly found himself a rich man.

Cooke's tragic death in December 1964 left Womack greatly shaken and the Valentinos' career in limbo. Just three months later, Womack married Cooke's widow, Barbara Campbell, which earned him tremendous ill will in the R&B community; many viewed him as a shady opportunist looking to cash in on Cooke's legacy, especially since Campbell was significantly older than Womack. According to Womack, he was initially motivated to look after Campbell in an unstable time, not to tarnish the memory of a beloved mentor. Regardless, Womack found himself unable to get his solo career rolling in the wake of the scandal; singles for Chess ("I Found a True Love") and Him ("Nothing You Can Do") were avoided like the plague despite their quality. the Valentinos cut a couple of singles for Chess in 1966, "What About Me" and "Sweeter Than the Day Before," which also failed to make much of a splash. To make ends meet, Womack became a backing guitarist, first landing a job with Ray Charles; he went on to make a valuable connection in producer Chips Moman, and appeared often at Moman's American Studio in Memphis, as well as nearby Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In the process, Womack appeared on classic recordings by the likes of Joe Tex, King Curtis, and Aretha Franklin (Lady Soul), among others. He recorded singles for Keymen and Atlantic without success, but became one of Wilson Pickett's favorite songwriters, contributing the R&B Top Ten hits "I'm in Love" and "I'm a Midnight Mover" (plus 15 other tunes) to the singer's repertoire.

Womack had been slated to record a solo album for Minit, but had given Pickett most of his best material, which actually wound up getting his name back in the public eye in a positive light. In 1968, he scored the first charting single of his solo career with "What Is This?" and soon hit with a string of inventively reimagined pop covers – "Fly Me to the Moon," "California Dreamin'," and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," the former two of which reached the R&B Top 20. A songwriting partnership with engineer Darryl Carter resulted in the R&B hits "It's Gonna Rain," "How I Miss You Baby," and "More Than I Can Stand" over 1969-1970. A series of label absorptions bumped Womack up to United Artists in 1971, which proved to be the home of his greatest solo success; in the meantime, he contributed the ballad "Trust Me" to Janis Joplin's masterpiece Pearl, and the J. Geils Band revived "Lookin' for a Love" for their first hit. He also teamed up with jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo on the LP High Contrast, which debuted
Womack's composition "Breezin'" (which, of course, became a smash for George Benson six years later). Most importantly, however, Womack played guitar on Sly & the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On, a masterpiece of darkly psychedelic funk that would have an impact on Womack's own sound and sense of style.

Womack issued his first UA album, Communication, in 1971, which kicked off a string of excellent releases that ran through the first half of the decade. In addition to several of Womack's trademark pop covers, the album also contained the original ballad "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha," which climbed all the way to number two on the R&B chart and became his long-awaited breakout hit. The 1972 follow-up Understanding spawned Womack's first chart-topper, "Woman's Gotta Have It," co-written with Darryl Carter and stepdaughter Linda (Womack divorced Barbara Campbell in 1970). The follow-up "Harry Hippie," a gently ironic tribute to Womack's brother, also hit the R&B Top Ten. Later that year, Womack scored the blaxploitation flick Across 110th Street; the title cut was later revived in the 1998 Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown. Released in 1973, The Facts of Life had an R&B number two hit in a rearrangement of the perennial "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," and the following year's Lookin' for a Love Again found Womack revisiting his Valentinos hit; the re-recorded "Lookin' for a Love" became his second number one R&B single and his only Top Ten hit on the pop charts. Follow-up single "You're Welcome, Stop on By" made the R&B Top Five.

Womack was by this time a seasoned veteran of the rock & roll lifestyle, having befriended the likes of the Rolling Stones, the late Janis Joplin, and Sly Stone. After his brother Harry was murdered by a jealous girlfriend in 1974 (in Bobby's own apartment), the drug usage began to take a more serious turn. Womack scored further R&B Top Ten hits with 1975's "Check It Out" and 1976's "Daylight," the latter of which seemed to indicate a longing for escape from the nonstop partying that often masked serious depression. Despite Womack's new marriage to Regina Banks, the song was a sign that things were coming to a head. Womack pushed UA into letting him do a full album of country music, something he'd always loved but which the label regarded as commercially inadvisable (especially under the title Womack reportedly wanted to use: Step Aside, Charley Pride, Give Another Nigger a Try). They eventually relented, and when BW Goes C&W met with predictably minimal response, UA palmed the increasingly difficult Womack off on Columbia. A pair of albums there failed to recapture his commercial momentum or reinvent him for the disco age, and he moved to Arista for 1979's Roads of Life, which appeared not long after the sudden death of his infant son.

At a low point in his life, Womack took a bit of time off from music to gather himself. He appeared as a guest vocalist on Jazz Crusader Wilton Felder's 1980 solo album, Inherit the Wind, singing the hit title track, and subsequently signed with black entrepreneur Otis Smith's independent Beverly Glen label. His label debut, 1981's The Poet, was a critically acclaimed left-field hit, rejuvenating his career and producing a number three R&B hit with "If You Think You're Lonely Now." Unfortunately, money disputes soured the relationship between Womack and Smith rather quickly. The Poet II was delayed until 1984, and featured several duets with Patti LaBelle, including another number three R&B hit, "Love Has Finally Come at Last." Beverly Glen released a final LP culled from Womack's previous sessions, Someday We'll All Be Free, in 1985, by which time the singer had already broken free and signed with MCA. Another hit with Wilton Felder, "(No Matter How High I Get) I'll Still Be Looking Up to You," appeared that year, and his label debut, So Many Rivers, produced a Top Five R&B hit in "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much." Released in 1986, Womagic reunited Womack with Chips Moman, and he also backed the Rolling Stones on their remake of "Harlem Shuffle." By the following year he'd christened himself The Last Soul Man, which proved to be his final recording for MCA.

In the years since, Womack has made high-profile returns to the music business only sporadically. Released in 1994, Resurrection was recorded for Ron Wood's Slide label and featured an array of guest stars including Wood, Keith Richards, Rod Stewart, and Stevie Wonder. In 1999, he fulfilled a longstanding promise to his father (who passed away in 1981) by delivering his first-ever gospel album, Back to My Roots. While he continued to perform throughout the following decade, his guest appearance on the 2010 Gorillaz album Plastic Beach seemed like a return. A couple years later, after being the subject of TV One's Unsung documentary series, he released The Bravest Man in the Universe, a collaboration with the XL label's Richard Russell and Gorillaz's Damon Albarn.

Biography by Steve Huey, Allmusic.com

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Bobby Womack - Albums Collection (7CD)

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Import only 2-on-1 featuring Womack's 1975 album Safety Zone produced by Herbie Hancock paired with The Womack Live album recorded in 1967.

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Bobby Womack - Albums Collection (7CD)

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Fly Me to the Moon:

Debut album from the self-proclaimed "Last Soul Man," who earned his credentials as writer and composer of the Rolling Stones' first U.K. number one. He was also one of the forces behind Sly & the Family Stone's sultry classic There's a Riot Going On. Derived from his 1987 album, this title of honor would have sounded pretentious employed by just anyone. However, with most of the true soul legends gone or lost in the '80s ozone of slick synthesized productions, Bobby Womack remained one of few who stayed true to their art. Like Bill Withers, Womack could be viewed as sort of a singer/songwriter by accident, who developed a genuine style of his own. His remarkable quality was brought back to memory through Quentin Tarantino's kind gesture of including him on the Jackie Brown soundtrack. Fly Me to the Moon (aka A Midnight Mover) is an impressive debut. It took Womack several years to come to the point of recording his own material, having first to shake off the untimely death of his mentor Sam Cooke. Based on the results, everything here sounds like he had been holding it back for this kind of raw soul explosion. A mere seven out of the ten tracks are Womack originals, two of which were written for ("I'm in Love") or with (the title track) Wilson Pickett. His authentic rasp of a voice, combined with a superb production by Chips Moman, lend to Fly Me to the Moon the overall feeling of a Stax release. "You Oughta Think It Over," "What Is This," and "The Time Is Now" are as good as anything by either Sam & Dave or Pickett himself, if not better. His stunning version of "California Dreamin'" tops this sublime effort. Womack makes the lyrics come alive in a way you can really smell those brown leaves and feel the chilly presence of a gray sky on a winters' day.

Review by Quint Kik, Allmusic.com

My Prescription:

Bobby Womack's second album on Minit Records rivals his first, Fly Me to the Moon. He establishes himself firmly in the mold of his contemporaries: Wilson Pickett, Don Covay, Johnnie Taylor, and other top soul men. An accomplished writer, Womack's never handicapped by poor material, but never hesitates to redo popular songs by other writers. He scores with a funky rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" (taken from his debut Minit LP), and with poorer results (chart-wise), "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," though aesthetically it's as funky as a bowl of hardened grits. He takes both easy listening songs far from their original molds. "How I Miss You Baby," "More Than I Can Stand," and Sam Cooke's "I'm Gonna Forget About You" made the rotations at R&B stations across America for good reason – they rock. Bobby "The Doctor" Womack fills this prescription and has you hankering for a refill.

Review by Andrew Hamilton, Allmusic.com

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Bobby Womack - Albums Collection (7CD)

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Understanding:

As compelling as Bobby Womack's lacerating baritone may be, it still has that uncanny ability to be an engaging voice. This album has that timeliness appeal. It features the chart-buster in the mid-tempo number "Woman's Gotta Have It." It was a number one single on the Billboard R&B charts. In addition to the aforementioned song, Womack also features a host of other granite numbers like "Ruby Dean" and "I Can Understand It." The latter, penned by Womack, was also covered by New Birth. Both versions are excellent. However, Womack's version has a soothing effect as it employs a sensuous string arrangement while New Birth's rendition is rather funky, retaining a spirited horn arrangement. Womack's version was never a release. "Harry Hippie" is a narrative about his brother and former bandmate Harris Womack. It checked in at number eight. The Ohio native's unique trait to calm a song with his blistering baritone re-surfaces on "Sweet Caroline," the album's third and final release. For a song to be so sweet and gentle, Womack enhances the flavor of this sentimental number with a heartfelt, soulful approach. It slipped into the Top 20 at 16. By all standards, this album is stirring.

Review by Craig Lytle, Allmusic.com

Communication:

A CD reissue of a Bobby Womack album originally released in 1972 on United Artists Records that yielded the solid "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha" and across-the-tracks remakes of Ray Stevens' "Everything Is Beautiful," James Taylor's "Fire & Rain," and a monologue-dressed, nearly ten-minute-long rendition of Hal David and Burt Bacharach's "Close to You." Released intact with the original eight tracks; fine, for 1971, they did it like that then, but skimpy for the '90s where 14 tracks and more CDs became commonplace.

Review by Andrew Hamilton, Allmusic.com

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Facts Of Life:

Womack is one of the most prolific and influential acts in R&B and rock. With songs like "I Can Understand It," "Harry Hippie," and "Woman Got to Have It," Womack often displayed a depth, candor, and an expert turn of phrase that helped him outpace his contemporaries. Facts of Life is the follow-up to the 1972 classic Communication. This album is even better. Womack is known for his often uncomfortably real takes on love, life, and relationships, and Facts of Life expertly deals with a myriad of subjects. The only released single is his revamped take of the standard "Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out." The song has been done ad infinitum, but Womack put a nasty edge on it that made it sound like a song he wrote himself. "I'm Through Trying to Prove My Love to You" is punctuated by his great guitar riffing and plaintive vocal and lyrical gems like, "See when you take my heart/ I can't let you take my soul." "He'll Be There When the Sun Goes Down" benefits from more witticisms and a strong string arrangement from Womack and Rene Hall. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Facts of Life is that Womack is so adept at taking others' material and making it his own. "Natural Man," a cover of "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman," is the biggest shock here. Where Aretha Franklin's version had her skillfully shouting from the rooftops, Womack brings tenderness to the lyric and is believable. Produced by Womack and recorded in Muscle Shoals with its renowned players, Facts of Life is an album of undeniable craft.

Review by Jason Elias, Allmusic.com

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Lookin' For A Love Again:

Bobby Womack is one of the best soul singers of all time, bringing his songs to life with testimonial pleas and lacerating deliveries. The title track from 1974's Lookin' for a Love Again gave the Cleveland native his second number one song. It held that position on the R&B charts for three consecutive weeks and scaled the Top Ten on the pop charts as well. (His other number one song was "Woman's Gotta Have It.") "You're Welcome, Stop on By" was the second single. As with most of this soulman's numbers, this one has that irresistible, percolating rhythm augmented by Womack's wailing delivery. Whether Womack is strokin' country & western rhythms, burnin' a blues melody with his guitar, or expressing a painful confession with his trademark baritone, rest assured that the outcome is going to be nothing short of sizzlin'.

Review by Craig Lytle, Allmusic.com

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Eschewing the orchestrated sound that dominated much of his 1970s output, the Across 110th Street soundtrack being the definitive example, with The Poet Womack stays in that slick vein, but this time does so with a soft jazz feel. Workouts like "Where Do We Go from Here" contain long intros and codas with Womack's gruff vocal style trading off with the silky voices of a female choir; on "So Many Sides of You," one of the more rollicking songs on the record, the piano, drums, and Nathan East's bass are as crisp as a new dollar bill. A bonus, aside from the songs, is the great cover art, which shows Womack decked out in a lavender sports coat and a pair of sunglasses, which only someone of his soulful grace could pull off.

Review by Steve Kurutz, Allmusic.com

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Though Bobby Womack's in great voice, The Poet II doesn't quite hit the same heights as The Poet, which successfully executed ideas Womack had been tinkering with since 1979's Roads of Life. This seeks the success The Poet got by surprise. Womack's skill is his pragmatic take on relationships, but on The Poet II his aim is a little off. "Love Has Finally Come at Last" is the first of three duets with Patti LaBelle. The duet idea works better on "It Takes a Lot of Strength to Say Goodbye"; it sounds better suited for two singers, and the dramatic arrangement and chemistry between Womack and LaBelle are strong but not that exciting. The Poet II also features some over-produced though skillful dance tracks. "Tell Me Why" is effective and has Womack asking why his relationship is failing and uses his children as pawns when he sings, "You don't have to do it for me/But do it for the sake of the kids." By the end of the album, Womack's lack of winning premises starts to catch up with him. "I Wish I Had Someone to Come Home To" has him sounding a little phony with lyrics like "Ain't no way this lonely man can seem to win." Fans of Womack know he'd think up something to do. The effort's last track, "American Dream," features snippets of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. With its so-so lyrics and plodding arrangement, it just falls apart within the first two minutes. The Poet II is no doubt a good Bobby Womack album, but it is clear that he can do much better.

Review by Jason Elias, Allmusic.com