Album: Bobby Womack, The Bravest Man in the Universe (XL)
Bobby dazzles as he returns to his gospel roots
Saturday 09 June 2012
As one of the great individual stylists of Seventies soul music, Bobby Womack has been unaccountably silent for too many decades now.
Once, his sermonising style anatomising the knots and pitfalls of relationships offered a thoughtful counterpoint to the more physical leanings of the funk era; but its reflective nature long since slipped out of favour with black music's increasingly functional dancefloor priorities. So kudos to XL's Richard Russell for reprising the refurbishment process he applied to Gil Scott-Heron, and for finding the right collaborator in Damon Albarn.
Eschewing the psychedelic-funk arrangements of Womack's heyday, Russell and Albarn have opted for sparse electro grooves, the better to focus attention squarely on the singer's sepia timbre. The title-track opens proceedings with that voice naked save for a sombre cello, Womack opining that "the bravest man in the universe is the one who has forgiven first", a customary slice of gospel wisdom, before a skeletal electro pattern kicks in, shaded by hints of piano, acoustic guitar and strings. The formula continues for "Please Forgive My Heart", where spare piano chords and stuttery synth beats accompany his evocative plaint that "it feels like the sky is falling, and the clouds are closing in".
The same few elements are juggled variously throughout the album, with variety provided by Lana Del Ray and Fatoumata Diawara duetting on "Dayglo Reflection" and "Nothin' Can Save Ya" respectively. His lyrical themes remain constant: hope and shame, guilt and faith. And always audible are his roots in gospel. On "Love Is Gonna Lift You Up", you can all but hear the swaying choir absent from the chorus, while the concluding "Jubilee" harnesses the spiritual standard "Don't Let Nobody Turn You Round" to a pounding electro pulse – over which Bobby finally gets to do a little of his old-school sermonising. It's been a long time coming, and all the more welcome for it.
Download: The Bravest Man in the Universe; Please Forgive My Heart; Whatever Happened to the Times; Jubilee
Arts & Ents blogs
The Fall ‘Darkness Visible’ – Series 1, episode 2
There is a good many moments in the second episode of this psychological thriller that deserve refle...
‘Vicious’ – Series 1, episode 4
The opening titles squeal ‘Never Can Say Goodbye…’. Oh Lord how I wish I could heave this series off...
Game of Thrones ‘Second Sons’ – Season 3, episode 8
Even though there was a complete absence of our favourite odd couple Brienne and Jaime, we got anoth...
-
'He was lucky he didn't die' - George Michael fell out of speeding car onto M1 motorway, according to eye witness
-
Brian May: The Voice is the dullest, dumbest, most depressing programme on TV
-
Coronation Street triumphs over EastEnders at British Soap Awards 2013
-
The Freemasons' Code: Dan Brown reveals the message that told him the door to the lodge is open
-
Tacky or just plain weird? Gallery in Hamburg holds exhibition dedicated to bad taste
- 1 'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Bloody attack brings terror to capital’s streets
- 2 Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies
- 3 Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage
- 4 After woman sells virginity for $780,000, here are the results of our prostitution survey
- 5 Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’
Why clubs are keen to take a stand


Comments