Bobby Womack, the soul legend who sadly died last week, often had more talent than he knew what to do with. This was a man who recorded classic music through five decades and worked with artists as disparate as Sly Stone, The Rolling Stones and Damon Albarn and yet he is often overlooked. It is somehow typical of Womack that he dies so soon after his universally acclaimed comeback album The Bravest Man in the Universe and a new generation of fans understanding his huge range and influence.
Throw a rock in the air and you will find a modern soul artist touched by his work. However few contemporary artists can claim to be a master guitarist along with a hit writing songwriter and such a grittily soulful singer. A better singer than Hendrix and a more creative guitarist than Prince, that's some legacy.
Womack started as Sam Cooke's guitarist and first broke through with the classic tune It's All Over Now, which subsequently became The Rolling Stones first US number 1. He continued to have success with his group The Valentinos while sustaining a busy career as a session guitarist. His playing was a mixture of Curtis Mayfield's melodic trills and Wes Montgomery's jazzy gliding octaves and decorated hits by Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett among other. He also wrote hits for Janis Joplin and George Benson as well as contributing bass and his trade mark wah wah guitar to the number 1 hit Family Affair by Sly & The Family Stone.
It was time for Womack to strike out on his own and between 1971 - 74 he released a string of excellent albums. Each featured great guitar work, wonderful singing and flashes of songwriting brilliance. I sometimes wonder if he had the session man's diffidence with his own songs, always feeling the need to cover bland middle of the road tunes by Neil Diamond and The Beatles in search of a cross over hit, alongside his own increasingly complex music. His own songs were densely produced, often burying his vocals under layers of guitar and horns, his lyrics were questioning and ambiguous, elegantly dissecting love and friendship in ways that were possibly too obscure for super stardom.
However he did enjoy a string of modest hits with That's the Way I Feel About Cha, Woman's Gotta Have It (my personal favourite), I Can Understand It, Across 110th Street, You're Welcome, Stop on By. He star faded as the endless partying and recording took it's toll but he had a finger in every genre from soul, deep funk, disco and as socially conscious balladeer (even a bizarre attempt at country). The tune Daylight perfectly sums up the era, party hard and play hard till the early hours then starting all over again. The lifestyle did for many soul stars, some like Rick James and Sly Stone never came back from the void but Womack hung in there and enjoyed his biggest hit yet with his classic album The Poet in 1981.
After this peak there was a gradual slide into easy listening blandness (just check out his "sports casual" red leather jump suit on The Poet II's cover) but 2012's The Bravest Man in the Universe and a collaboration with Gorillaz showed that with a bit of focus he could still pull it off. Whatever the context his voice and guitar playing always shone. He will be honoured by his final album The Best Is Yet to Come to be released posthumously this year. His passing marks a true break with a very different music industry and social and political time. A quick spin of any of his best albums such as Communication or Understanding will give you a history lesson in soul, funk and a depth of talent rarely seen before or since.
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