Bobby Womack - The Bravest Man In The Universe

Here, the last living soul legend has set the bar once more with his first new material in over 18 years, but not in the way you’d expect.

It seems The Bravest Man In The Universe is symbolic of a wound that is slowly healing; Bobby Womack’s broken voice acting as the coagulant between his often blurry and traumatic past, and his openness to exploring new musical avenues.

Co-produced by XL’s Richard Russell and Blur's Damon Albarn, we are introduced to a sound that echoes as much the influences of Womack as those of the producers themselves. We should pray this album is not a poison chalice for Bobby - Russell’s last major project was working on the final tip of the hat from Gill Scott Heron, who briefly features on the album in an interlude along side the late Sam Cooke, who Womack, currently suffering from bowel cancer, arguably owes most of his success.

For much of the album there is a fitting bleakness to the tone that is stated quite candidly in the opening track, ‘Bravest Man In The Universe’. A strange guest appearance from Lana Del Rey on the second single, ‘Day Glow Reflection’, somehow fits within the dark mood, although Womack, at times, feels like a feature on his own album; sad given his talent.

We get a brief moment of the 68 year old playing on 'Deep River', which, frankly, does no justice to his talents as a guitarist and would have undoubtedly given an added personal touch. A questionable offering is, ‘Love Is Gonna Lift You Up’. The pace and '90s dance nature of the opening 10 seconds doesn’t belong and his up-beat attitude and meaningless lyrics totally destroy the mood the last 9 songs has worked so hard to develop. However immediately after comes probably the strongest song on the record, ‘Nothin’ Can Save Ya’. It’s the epitome of what the album represents and features Fatoumata Diawara the Malian born funk and jazz songstress; she haunts the track like a reaper.

Overall, some nicely worked atmospherics create a complimenting balance between an aged but open-minded Womack with subtle uses of strings and keys. It’s a touching resurgence that sinks deeper into the listener with each play and quite vividly paints a picture of how Bobby feels about his past

The Bravest Man In The Universe in not for his avid, die-hard fans unless they are open to a little experimentation. If they are, then this is testament to how combining aspects of different genres can fuse beautifully, and, with Womack’s unmistakable authority and timing, proves particularly heart-warming and honest.