the Van-Womack duet is here now and it is wonderful, everything the terrible Michael Buble couldn’t begin to bring to “Real Real Gone”, Womack brings to “Peace Of Mind” -a punchy, upbeat r&b workout with Van and Bobby trading off on lines before bringing it home together.
The thing is, Womack uses the background singers as though they re an instrumental and he is singing over them, around them, in the holes they leave: instead of singing directly to the beat (rap was still in its nascent state), he is singing on the room left by back up singers.
“Across 100th Street” was the title track for a soundtrack to a 1972 blaxploitation film about solving murder crimes in Harlem. While there is no subtlety in the high schlock arrangement, Womack’s gritty, been there, done that voice gives the lyrics about dope, pimps, and street prostitutes a sense of tragic urban reality.
At the # 1 spot, American artist: “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” Willie Nelson. One of Willie’s best – a beautiful lyric of self-less love matched with equally inspiring guitar work. A #1 country hit.
No One To Run With – The Allman Brothers – Dicky Betts takes the rhythmic lick from a Stephen Stills and places it on top of a choo choo train, than rolls over country and rock on the way to pop – A
He married Sam Cooke’s widow, who was 8 years his senior, just three months after Cooke was killed; the marriage broke up after Womack’s wife shot him after finding him in bed with her daughter. She winged him; the marriage was DOA. So Womack seemed indestructible. He was too tough, too talented, too damn crazy to do something as mundane as expire. But die he did.
Mathematics – Mos Def – “You want to know how to rhyme you better learn how to add” Mos Def advises and he makes his point on this classic whose rhythmic hook has showed has shown up ever since, on the flip side of his biggest song – A
I was talking to Tomas Doncker yesterday and telling him how healthy Womack looked last December at City Winery. Then I reread my review of the best show of 2013 and realized he looked like hell. All I remembered was the good stuff and with Womack there was plenty. Here is my review
Santa is looking over my shoulder and tutting or nodding his head in appreciation because, just before he flys off to give all the good girls and boys gifts, he is picking up our list to help with some of the more famous among us and rock nyc is here to help…
You hear about these kinda things but until you actually see it,a man shed 20 years just by getting onstage, it is hard to believe it actually happens and yet there it is! The great, one of the greatest, soul man, found the fountain of youth just by performing his songs to an audience at City Winery and perform them he did, in 90 minutes of take no prisoners soul he smashed through every barrier and came out triumphant. It’s a Christmas miracle.
After a disappointing couple of weeks for concerts, Bobby Womack brought his eleven piece soul band to City Winery for the old time soul concert of the year and turned December around! Looking his age but acting timeless, Womack sang some of the great soul songs and most of which he himself wrote.
Love Is Gonna Come At Last – Bobby Womack And Patti Labelle – Womack is on the record as hating rap but the way he uses the chorus like a hook on this song, opening and closing the track with it, is an ancestor of rap for sure – A
You Send Me – Sam Cooke – The smoothest of all soul singer seduced a white audience with this grown up puppy love masterpiece of 50s; pure and innocent but with the suggestion of sex – A+
The amazing thing here is how involved the big man is in the music, how alive Womack is to the sounds, how at 69 years old he might still be l a badass but he is a joyful, surviving badass; it’s like the world has grown only as big as the stage he controls and this world is timeless soul greatness.
Bobby Womack is one of the great soul men of the 20th century and after his cancer scare last year we are lucky he is still with us.In January of this year he announced he as Alzheimers disease so we are very very lucky that he will be playing three nights at City Winery and I am making my way down there on Friday
Nobody Wants You When You’re Down And on – Bobby Womack – aaaah, yeah, Bobby really nails it on this one. They don’t make soul like this any more though Womack is at City Winery in December so he should be playing it like this – A
Song Beneath The Song – Maria Taylor – The Saddle Creek stalwart has her best album to date coming out soon, till then here is an early solo song that will keep you going; that’s Conor singing back up – A
