BRAVEST MAN IN THE UNIVERSE

Tracklist:

1. The Bravest Man In The Universe
2. Please Forgive My Heart
3. Deep River
4. Dayglo Reflection (ft. Lana Del Rey)
5. Sweet Baby Mine
6. Stupid Introlude (ft. Gil Scott-Heron)
7. Stupid
8. If There Wasn't Something There
9. Love Is Gonna Lift You Up
10. Nothin’ Can Save Ya (ft. Fatoumata Diawara)
11. Jubilee (Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around)


Of all the idiotic phrases TV talent-show judges have given us, one of the best (worst) is "you could sing the phone book and I'd love it". Frankly, there are few people who could do that and make it sound moving. But Bobby Womack's voice has so much soul and earthiness, he could start reciting the Yellow Pages and I'd be in tears before he'd even finished the As. Two people who obviously feel the same way are Damon Albarn (who worked with Womack on the last Gorillaz album) and XL label boss Richard Russell. They have co-produced Womack's first album of new material since 1994, The Bravest Man in the Universe. Back in March the first fruits of their labour emerged in the shape of the gorgeous Please Forgive My Heart, which married Womack's singing to twitchy electronics and plaintive piano. The second single complements Womack's voice with a mournful cello, before bass-heavy beats and jazzy piano interludes punctuate a song that demands you listen: "I've got a story I want to tell … gather round me boys and girls.

http://www.guardian.co.uk