Bobby Womack - Greatest Hits [Capitol 1999] (CD)

All Music Guide

Compiling virtually all of Bobby Womack's best recordings, this 19-track expansion of Capitol's 1990 Greatest Hits is a solid, though slightly flawed, alternative to the occasionally exhaustive two-disc set Midnight Mover. The disc spans most of his career -- from the late '60s through his '70s breakout and on into the '80s -- though nearly all of it dates from the '70s, his brilliant period recording for United Artists. Few songs better exemplify Womack's raw, straining delivery and funky, forthright songwriting than his big RB hits "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha" and "Woman's Gotta Have It," while the tough rocker "It's All over Now" illustrates his enviable range. An extended live track, "The Preacher/More Than I Can Stand," shows how Bobby Womack the songwriter, sessionman, or recording artist could occasionally be upstaged by Bobby Womack the testifying live performer, and his proficiency at interpreting standards ("Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out" and "Home Is Where ...the Heart Is") is assured as well. The only failure of Greatest Hits -- and it's a big one -- is that it doesn't include Womack's blaxploitation nugget "Across 110th Street," not a big hit but one of his best performances and a song he's become increasingly identified with (after its reuse in the 1997 film Jackie Brown). Also, there are a few other can't-miss tracks not heard here that the two-disc Midnight Mover wisely included: "I'm a Midnight Mover," "What Is This?," "It's Gonna Rain," and "Arkansas State Prison." Here's the upshot: for those who don't need two discs of Bobby Womack, Greatest Hits is an acceptable substitute. - John Bush, All Music Guide Read more Less