Album: Bobby Womack, The Bravest Man in the Universe (XL Recordings)
Sunday 10 June 2012
Related articles
From the dark recesses of the cellar ... It's the last great soul man, framed in electronic beats, supported by the voices of Fatoumata Diawara, Gil Scott-Heron and Lana Del Rey, co-produced by Richard Russell and Damon Albarn.
A passionate, heartfelt, serious, dogged effort, pregnant with reflection and as wise as you could hope for. Sententious but not sentimental. Womack is 68 and has been through the addiction mill. And if the nudging, twittering electronica which maps this "secular Gospel" vision is, by its nature, neither mobile nor moving, the record does at least sound like it belongs to our own time – even if Bobby does not.
The voice remains its essential self: a ruined church heard best when he sings "Deep River" with only an acoustic guitar. You can hear him breathe.
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...
- 1 'He was lucky he didn't die' - George Michael fell out of speeding car onto M1 motorway, according to eye witness
- 2 Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage
- 3 After woman sells virginity for $780,000, here are the results of our prostitution survey
- 4 Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
- 5 'It was just like the movie Twister': Man survives Oklahoma tornado by taking refuge in horse stall
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