The Bravest Man In The Universe

Description

Damon Albarnenlisted Bobby Womack to sing onGorillaz’s 2010 albumPlastic 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 withRichard Russell’s XL Records, Womack collaborated with his longtime cohortHarold Payne,Albarn, andRussellon this ghostly, skeletal soul collection, each man bringing his own signatures to the table.Russell’s beats intertwine withAlbarn’s spectral chords, each evoking distinct memories of his past work, but even if there are clear antecedents inRussell’s production ofGil Scott-Heronor the futuristic funk oeuvre ofGorillaz, 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 asUnderstandingandThe 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.