Often unfairly slighted in the pantheon of great soul musicians in the 1970s, a new U.K. compilation gives Bobby Womack his due, anthologizing every one of his single sides from the first nine years of his solo career.
Womack and his brothers, Friendly, Curtis, Harry and Cecil, started from the small clubs of Cleveland before being discovered by Sam Cooke, who signed them to his SAR label. The classic "Lookin' for a Love," which he produced, earned them a spot on James Brown's tour; a follow-up, "It's All Over Now," co-written by Bobby, was the first chart-topper for The Rolling Stones in their native England and a Top 40 hit in America.
He took on session work after leaving The Valentinos, playing on Aretha Franklin's Atlantic albums and writing for Wilson Pickett. This string of successes led Minit Records to sign Womack, where he stayed until moving to Liberty and United Artists in the 1970s. While many of his sides were soulful covers of standards ("Fly Me to the Moon," "I Left My Heart in San Francisco") and contemporary pop-rock ("California Dreamin'," "Everybody's Talkin'," "Sweet Caroline"), Womack would enjoy success with originals like "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha," "Harry Hippie," "Across 110th Street" (from the iconic soul soundtrack album of the same name), "Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out" and even a remake of "Lookin' for a Love."
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNjSBkGUOTU]
Womack's career cooled in the years since, after the enormous success of "If You Think You're Lonely Now" in 1981, but in true soul survivor fashion, the iconic singer-songwriter-guitarist came back in 2012 with The Bravest Man in the Universe, his first album of all-new material in nearly a decade, produced by Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz fame.
Everything's Gonna Be Alright: The American Singles 1967-1976, released on the Charly label, looks to be a nice introduction to an underrated force in R&B. This set is available now; pre-order links and the full track list are after the jump.
Everything's Gonna Be Alright: The American Singles 1967-1976 (Charly (U.K.), 2013)
Disc 1
- Baby I Can't Stand It
- Trust Me
- Somebody Special
- Broadway Walk
- What is This
- What You Gonna Do (When Your Love is Gone)
- Fly Me to the Moon (in Other Words)
- Take Me
- California Dreamin'
- Baby! You Ought to Think It Over
- I Left My Heart in San Francisco
- Love, The Time is Now
- It's Gonna Rain
- Thank You
- How I Miss You Baby
- Tried and Convicted
- More Than I Can Stand
- Arkansas State Prison
- I'm Gonna Forget About You
- Don't Look Back
- Something
- Everybody's Talkin'
- The Preacher (Part 1)
- The Preacher (Part 2)/More Than I Can Stand
- Communication
- Fire and Rain
- That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha
Disc 2
- Come L'Amore
- Woman's Gotta Have It
- (If You Don't Want My Love) Give It Back
- Harry Hippie
- Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)
- Across 110th Street
- Hang On in There
- Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out
- I'm Through Trying to Prove My Love to You
- Lookin' for a Love
- Let It Hang Out
- You're Welcome, Stop On By
- I Don't Want to Be Hurt by Ya Love Again
- I Don't Know
- Yes, Jesus Loves Me
- Check It Out
- Interlude No. 2
- It's All Over Now (Duet with Bill Withers)
- Git It
- Where There's a Will, There's a Way
- Everything's Gonna Be Alright
- Daylight
- Trust in Me
Disc 1, Tracks 1-2 released as Minit 32024, 1967
Disc 1, Tracks 3-4 released as Minit 32030, 1967
Disc 1, Tracks 5-6 released as Minit 32037, 1968
Disc 1, Tracks 7-8 released as Minit 32048, 1968
Disc 1, Tracks 9-10 released as Minit 32055, 1969
Disc 1, Tracks 11-12 released as Minit 32059, 1969
Disc 1, Tracks 13-14 released as Minit 32071, 1969
Disc 1, Tracks 15-16 released as Minit 32081, 1969
Disc 1, Tracks 17-18 released as Minit 32093, 1970
Disc 1, Tracks 19-20 released as Liberty 56186, 1970
Disc 1, Tracks 21-22 released as Liberty 56206, 1970
Disc 1, Tracks 23-24 released as United Artists 50773, 1970
Disc 1, Tracks 25-26 released as United Artists 50816, 1970
Disc 1, Track 27 and Disc 2, Track 1 released as United Artists 50847, 1971
Disc 2, Tracks 2-3 released as United Artists 50902, 1972
Disc 2, Tracks 4-5 released as United Artists 50946, 1972
Disc 2, Tracks 6-7 released as United Artists UA-XW196-W, 1973
Disc 2, Tracks 8-9 released as United Artists UA-XW255-W, 1973
Disc 2, Tracks 10-11 released as United Artists UA-XW375-W, 1974
Disc 2, Tracks 12-13 released as United Artists UA-XW439-W, 1974
Disc 2, Tracks 14-15 released as United Artists UA-XW561-X, 1974
Disc 2, Tracks 16-17 released as United Artists UA-XW621-X, 1975
Disc 2, Tracks 18-19 released as United Artists UA-XW674-Y, 1975
Disc 2, Tracks 20-21 released as United Artists UA-XW735-Y, 1975
Disc 2, Tracks 22-23 released as United Artists UA-XW763-Y, 1975
What's better - this or "Midnight Mover: The Bobby Womack Collection" (1993), later reissued as "Anthology". This is linger, but is it better?
Make that "longer"...
I never really cared for the sound quality of "Midnight Mover," but the sheer number of tracks on it made it one of the better BW comps available for a long time. This, though, to me, might trump it. I've heard some early, favorable comments about the sound, and the tracklisting is hard to argue with unless you're an absolute diehard fan. And, even then, it's pretty impressive. And while they're not perfect, I've generally liked Charly's mastering approach. My copy should be here in a week or so. I have high hopes. It got five stars at allmusic.com from their lead writer, with whom I used to work, if that means anything.
Bottom line, though, is, Bobby Womack needs a BOX SET. And a good one!!!!
Well, yeah! Add in the Valentinos, "Poet" recordings, MCA recordings, and more. They should put us in charge...
There already was a box set: Bobby Womack – The Collection - The 12-CD-Box
Indeed there was--in 1987, it seems! I was completely unaware of that set. Thanks for the heads-up. I wasn't even buying CDs in '87. Interesting. Well, I guess my point was, we need a box set in THIS day and age, not some rare, costly collectible from the mists of time. Bobby's been pretty prolific, so it would have to be sizable. I don't think a 3- or even 4-disc set, however jam-packed, could really do the man justice. But, until a day like that comes, this new Charly set fills a nice hole in his discography. It's far better than nothing, that's for sure!
Yikes! Nah, I want a well curated, fully annotated 4-CD box that surveys his whole career - puts it in historical perspective while providing me with the best of the best.
Is that so wrong?
Not wrong at all. Just smart.
Maybe that's why the record companies haven't done it. 🙂