What You Won't Do for Love

Bobby Caldwell | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 6, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sin-Drome Records
• ASIN: B000001PGZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,733 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Step Of A Romantic Journey, January 28, 2001

By 

David W. Coleman "Sportside Books" (Buckeye, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What You Won't Do for Love (Audio CD)

This is a re-release of the album originally titled, simply, "Bobby Caldwell." It was released with little fanfare on the Clouds label. But the album had a major crossover success on board. Thus, the change in title. "What You Won't Do..." was like a bolt out of the blue. No one had really heard of Bobby Caldwell before that (just as no one had heard of Boz Scaggs before "Silk Degrees"). The song became a staple of Old Skool and Quiet Storm radio stations. What's really nice about this album is that all of its songs are of high quality. "My Flame" was a fine follow-up, which deserves to be played during Quiet Storm hours, but is sadly overlooked. I also really liked "Take Me Back" and "Love Won't Wait" especially, but as noted, these are all quality efforts. There is a lot of soul in Bobby's voice. On this album I could clearly hear the influence of both Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. He can really sing. And that's the other refreshing thing about him: Bobby Caldwell is a singer's singer. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the magic of "What You Won't Do..." would be hard to duplicate, especially for a singer without major label support. It was not Bobby's style to rest on his laurels in this fashion. He has continued to grow as an artist, expanding his approach and his reach, as he's gone. Today, Bobby Caldwell is a jazz-styled singer of pop standards. He packs them in at his concerts, and he has become such a good singer, he doesn't even have to perform his biggest song, anymore. That is what I'd call success: when you have gained the freedom to sing what you want to sing (as opposed to what you are MADE to sing). This album was his first big step. For Bobby Caldwell (and his fans), the romantic journey continues.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blue Eyed Soul, December 28, 2001

By 

chandler school (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What You Won't Do for Love (Audio CD)

What You Won't Do For Love is arguably one of the most memorable and slickest slow jams to have come out of the 70's. Heaven knows it's been the subject of countless remakes from hip-hop to mindless elevator muzak for a number of years.

I always pictured Bobby Caldwell as a jingle singer with a novelty voice - meaning, that other people could probably do a far better treatment of his songs than he could. But, somehow the original still remains the best. The vocals are very simple, the melody is tight and the refrain is so haunting that you find yourself lost in it long after the last "What I Would Not Do" is sung.

I always wondered why this song never made it to number one on the R&B charts. People speculated it was due in large part to the Blue Eyed Soul syndrome, a similar fate that stifled Hall & Oates' "Sarah Smile".... The real reason is; a great album had the misfortune of being released on a tiny label (Clouds) with more than likely, an equally diminutive marketing budget.

Clouds did release a heart shaped 45 of the song on red vinyl - I guess to coincide with Valentine's Day.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Torch Songs, Bobby's Way, October 30, 2004

By 

Ava Barbi (Everywhere & Nowhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What You Won't Do for Love (Audio CD)

Unrequited love can't get the best of you lovers out there -- that is, not if this sublime CD is part of your pop/R&B collection. I have the original CD of this set of songs, titled "Bobby Caldwell," and I love kicking back to listen to it when I'm feeling a bit haunted by ghosts, uh, lovers of the past.

My first time hearing "What You Won't Do for Love" was the morning of Valentine's Day on a Top 40 radio station. The DJ announced Bobby Caldwell's name excitedly, and I remember being puzzled because I had never heard of the singer before that day. I probably was late for school because Bobby Caldwell's smooth, soulful vocals blending with the Earth, Wind & Fire-influenced groove had me hypnotized in the middle of my room. Not since Deniece Williams' "Free," released the previous year, had I received such an exquisite lesson in adult-themed romance and intimacy.

As an adult, I love to imagine that Caldwell is crooning to me when I listen to slow cuts like "My Flame" and "Down for the Third Time." I also admire his fast-tempo tracks, but on the slow songs Caldwell gives a nod to Sinatra in his ability to transport the listener to a cozy jazz club setting. It's just Bobby and I, and he's onstage leaning down with the microphone toward me while I sit there blushing at the table-for-one -- ahem, sorry, I guess I got caught up in the moment.

While "What You Won't Do for Love" holds a special place in my memory, "My Flame" has become my favorite in recent years. On that track, the wistful kalimba and guitar pluck on the heartstrings while Caldwell interprets what could be any of our romantic experiences. For example, how many of us still have that "picture on the shelf" (or in the attic or closet -- but not buried there)? And how many of us wish we had a personal time machine that would allow us to demand to that former lover: "Tell me you still want me"? Just listen to the way Bobby Caldwell turns mellifluous on the word "flame" in the last refrain and you'll understand why he's a master of the torch song.

A final word about "My Flame": It has endurance not only in the minds of Caldwell's longtime fans but also in the music industry. Only a few years back, I got chills upon hearing Vanessa L. Williams' alluring cover of the song. (Only one of her greatest-hits collections includes "My Flame," so check out the track listing carefully.) It doesn't matter whether it was her decision or her record label's to record it, but she personified Desire in a way that probably made Caldwell proud -- royalties aside.

As for the midtempo "Down for the Third Time," Caldwell sounds as hip as ever singing about love and independence. The song's melodic ending, with its descending chord progression and Caldwell's undulating "oohs" and "ohs," is so infectious that you'll regret not having programmed the track back-to-back on your CD player.