Name: The Bravest Man In The Universe
Brand: Bobby Womack

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

XLLP561

Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2020-04-14

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

634904056117

Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

XLCD561

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634904056124

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1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Bobby Womack

Genre GB

Funk / Soul

Label GB

<p>Bobby Womack was a singer, guitarist, and songwriter born on March 4, 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio. He formed the gospel quintet The Womack Brothers with his brothers Cecil, Curtis, Friendly, and Harry in the early 1950s. After being produced by Sam Cooke from 1953 onwards, they transitioned to secular music and became known as The Valentinos. Following Cooke's death in 1964, Bobby Womack embarked on a successful solo career as a songwriter, session guitarist, and recording artist. In recognition of his contributions to music, he was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.</p>

<p>An independent record label, XL Recordings was launched in 1989 by Richard Russell and his team. Originally an off-shoot of City Beat Records, XL quickly became known for releasing rave and dance music. Over the years, XL has grown to become one of the leading labels in the industry, managing a roster of talented artists including *Leah Riches*, *a6001996*, and *a60243*. In 1996, XL officially incorporated and became the copyright-holder of its releases. To celebrate their 15th anniversary in 2004, XL launched their XLXV series of re-issues. Today, they continue to thrive as a pioneering force in the music world.</p>

Damon Albarn enlisted Bobby Womack to sing on Gorillaz's 2010 album Plastic Beach, pushing the great soul singer back into action after a prolonged period of silence. Remarkably, the unlikely pair struck up a friendship, a partnership that led to 2012's The Bravest Man in the Universe, Womack's first album in 13 years. Signing with XL Records, Womack collaborated with his longtime cohort Harold Payne, Albarn, and Russell on this ghostly, skeletal soul collection, each man bringing his own signatures to the table. Russell's beats intertwine with Albarn's spectral chords, each evoking distinct memories of his past work, but even if there are clear antecedents in Russell's production of Gil Scott-Heron or the futuristic funk oeuvre of Gorillaz, these two do not bend Womack to fit their needs: they free him to make a startlingly modern Bobby Womack album, one that harks back to such previous masterworks as Understanding and The Poet, albums that fully embodied both the singer and his times. 

And so it is with The Bravest Man in the Universe, an album that sounds like 2012 as much as it sounds like Womack: the rhythms belong to the modern world, the slow, shimmering grooves undeniably Womack's, as he's been specializing in this sound since the turn of the '70s. Initially, the most bracing elements of The Bravest Man in the Universe are those electronic flourishes from Russell and Albarn and, most of all, the power of Womack's singing. He's showing signs of age -- his voice is etched and weathered -- but he sounds undiminished, both as a vocalist and as a man. This is not a quiet, mournful album about the dying of the light; this is about living in the moment, embracing age and modernity with equal enthusiasm. 

The Bravest Man In The Universe

Music GB