Customer Reviews

Poet

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sorry , but I have to totally disagree with Rickey Wright's Editorial Review above , this album is every bit as good as Marvin Gaye's - Midnight Love , and to describe the uptempo R&B of - So Many Sides Of You - as " reggae-tinged " is tenuous to the extreme .

After a period of turmoil in his life , Bobby Womack returned to the studio to make The Poet for the small Beverly Glen label . It was the use of these recording sessions as a cathartic healing process that inspired him to write some of the finest songs of his long career . The voice was as great as the songs , with a hint of pain , as Bobby sang about the highs and lows of relationships . Incredibly the magnificent first five tracks were surpassed by the majestic trilogy that concluded the album as Bobby took it to another level by really getting down , sometimes pleading , and sometimes testifying in that gritty voice of his , but always leaving the listener emotionally drained , as he proved beyond doubt that he could still deliver some of the deepest soul out there !

Ironically the success of this album only intensified Bobby Womack's woes , as he became entangled in a legal writ with Beverly Glen over the royalties , but if that was the price he had to pay in creating this masterpiece I would selfishly say it was worth it , as I really do believe that this just might be the greatest soul album of the Eighties .

Even though it's over 20 years old, Poet is still one of my favorite records. My mother had it on wax, and finally had to get rid of it. When I ordered the CD, it was like being transported back in time. As long as the oldies are on CD, I'll never have to listen to that noise they call music on the radio.

I must admit that I was never really a big BW(Bobby Womack) fan
Until now.

I mean I knew some of his songs The Ever Popular "If You Think You're Lonely Now" and "That's The Way I Feel About You" and later I was introduced to his song
"You're Welcome ,Stop On By" when my friend Derick Hughes sang it at a concert.

So I always had some knowledge of who he was but I wasn't really deep into him like say for instance you could ask me anything about Isaac Hayes or Luther Vandross or Donny Hathaway and I could tell you , I wasn't that deep with BW.


I find myself getting upset because there is so much music out there that I love so dearly now that I never paid any attention to until my later years.

Being a musician myself Singer/Songwriter/Arranger I always wanted to be influenced by the best and as I have discovered BW is one of the best.

I've been introduced to BW a few times in my life but it was always for a little while then I moved on , as I mentioned the previous songs earlier and even the work he did with his brothers when they called themselves "The Valentinos" a song Entitled "Everybody Wants To Fall In Love"(Which i think BW sang lead on but im not totally sure) from the Sam Cooke SAR Records Story.

This last time it took Calvin Richardson's tribute CD(Facts Of Life/The Soul Of Bobby Womack) which coincided with BW being inducted into the Rock N Roll hall of fame (2009) (Congrads BW... and The Poet I &II Being Re-Released) for me to pay attention again.


This time im stuck for good.... I love every song on the album and if you have read any of my other reviews then you know that , that is not something I say often , so when I do it has to be true.

BW showcases many styles of music here from the straight out R&B of
"If You Think You're Lonely Now" to the jazzy guitar licks of "Games" and from the easy listening of "Just My Imagination" to the dancing, foot stompin, sockin soul of "Stand Up".

His voice is in supreme order on every song, BW is without a doubt One of the Best and unfortunately underated soul singers/songwriters in the business.

I used to sit and wonder how come LP's back then only had between 5 and 8 songs on them ... maybe lol

The 2 answers I came up with was

#1. Artist's back then put there all into every song , they were very meticulous
About the music they created , recorded and released. They weren't just gonna make some music string some lyrics together and call it a song, they worked hard.



Every song was good , where as some of today's artist(if you can call them that) make 1 or 2 good songs and the rest are fill ins to fill the slots with enough songs so they can call it an album or a CD.

#2 most album versions of songs back then were 6 or 7 minutes long and when Isaac Hayes hit the scene they stretched to 18 Min and when Barry White came it went to 20 min lol.


The Poet is a brilliant album and as this review is titled
Bobby Womack was and im sure still is A BEAST!!!!

I wish Malaco Records would offer him a contract if he doesn't already have one
With a company... Malaco yall need to jump on that(Smile).

this man could not only write but as vocalist and guitarist this man has mad feeling.this album was a solid concept album.that's a word you don't hear today.cuz many of the so-called superstars of today don't have a clue about a concept.but this record was a story being told only by a true poet of words&music.