The Poet
Bobby Womack
1981
Album Summary
The Poet is the thirteenth studio album by American musician Bobby Womack. The album was released in November 1981, by Beverly Glen Music. The album reached the top of the Billboard Top Black Albums chart due to the success of the single "If You Think You're Lonely Now", which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart.
WikipediaMy wife had a rough holiday weekend, so I'm making sure to treat her right this evening: I've got this album, I've got a dozen roses, and I've got a boxed macaroni and cheese dinner for two.
“The Poet” by Bobby Womack (1981) R&B, funk, jazz, finely performed by Womack, with plenty of excellent backing support. These are mostly love songs that are presented with soul and flair. Womack’s lead guitar is nice to listen to, as well his not-quite-mellow-enough baritone voice. And the backing vocals are angelic. “Stand Up” cooks—makes ya wanna dance. These tracks are well arranged, but some idiosyncrasies (like overused harp glissando) mildly detract. And while the lyrics are suitably passionate, they lack depth and lexical variety, hence the album title “The Poet” is somewhat pompous. The track “If You Think You’re Lonely Now” is interestingly equivocal. Is it sympathetic or menacing? The listener can decide. But it’s good music that gets under your skin. Womack’s “Just My Imagination” (1981) is strikingly similar to The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” (1971). Are the attorneys on top of this or is it just my imagination? A very enjoyable album. 3/5
I'm not a fan of this genre but the album wasn't that much of a pain to listen. Not too repetitive and short.
Absolutely PERFECT. Womack remains the king of soul, and this album is one of my favorites. Every track is genius, but "If You Think You're Lonely Now" is one of my favorite songs of all time.
nice vibes, lush production, and he has an amazing voice but im not sure if i think this one has aged well. just a little bit too 80s cheesy for me
Where has this been all my life? Smooth, sexy, groovy, passioned, and damn COOL
Ooooooooo. funkay. Love the funk R&B on Secrets. So Many Sides Of You is a great opening track. I actually don't love If You Think You're Lonely now, but I still love this album. Great album, I had a blast listening to it.
This album has no weakness, every kind of Soul/R&B music is represented in this album. Also, every song makes you wanna dance. A Hidden Gem in music history.
For some reason, I remember listening to his final album when it was released. However, never really listened to earlier Womack. I'm not especially qualified to evaluate how this compares to other soul/RnB/funk from the era, but damn it seems pretty damn good to me. I got the 2021 remaster, and it sounds really well defined to my inexpert ears. You've got funky party anthems like "Stand Up", and slightly generic bedroom preludes "Lay Your Lovin' On Me". But my preference is for the long, reflective ballads like "Games" and "Just My Imagination" (weirdly with a country tinge to it. Edit: apparently he had at least one whole album of "country soul"!), which really take you on an emotional/narrative journey. I'm not a huge fan of the growling soul thing he does sometimes, but Womack's voice is definitely a strong asset here. All the musicianship is good, and the bass particularly stands out on some tracks.
A funky, jam-filled album from a crazy talented singer. Straight up, this record will make you want to dance and sing like a madman. The guitar and piano riffs are groovy, there's a disco-based rhythm section, and Womack brings heat to his voice that you can feel in your soul. Favorite Song: If You Think You're Lonely Now Least Favorite: Secrets
Sometimes I wonder if I overrate certain rock records and underrate other genres, primarily soul and R&B. Because I hear good stuff here but it doesn’t really sound essential to me. I do think it’s an interesting footnote in R&B history, as this came out right when disco became passé, but no one really knew what would be the new sound. A lot of it tends to run together for me, but I have fun anyway. C
I got on with it, So Many Sides of You, If You Think You're Lonely Now and Stand Up all slap. The rest is all okay. However, I feel like the super polished sound was a malign influence on the rest of the decade, with so much overproduced plastic soul afterwards. This isn't quite there. Nothing sounds glazed over and evil like what came later, but it's definitely on its way there. I'd have given it three, but it loses a star for what it wraught on ears in the coming years.
Very busy energy which Womack matches with fidgety vocals. More disco here than you might suspect. Blues, too. Basically, he'll take rhythm from any place he can get it. But poesy? An overstretch.
No tengo idea de porqué está este disco aquí. Este men tiene discos increíbles a principios de los 70s. La producción de este pedo es vomitiva y las canciones están equis.
Amai dit was genieten, jammer dat er twee nummers niet beschikbaar zijn. just my imagination vind ik de leukste
This isn't the kind of music I would typically listen to, but it is beautiful.
I mean this dude is just an absolute legend. Have hardly ever heard a bad song and this song is just full of jams. 'Imagination' and 'If you think you're lonely now' are incredible.
So much craic. "Girl, you know how to make my cookie crumble, my cookie crumble When you hold me close and do all the things you do to me Ooh-wee, baby Just like some good old Kentucky Fried Chicken And all of it was good enough to be finger lickin′" that is all
Disappointed that there's only 5 of the 8 songs on Spotify available to play. I listened to it several times. I enjoyed this a lot.
First off, what a really cool album cover, amazing. And thankfully, the quality of the music is equally top notch. Soulful lead vocals, gospel influenced backing vocals, lovely smooth production, tasteful arrangements. It's hard to pick stand out tracks as every one is a winner thanks to the funky backing, it never drags. A joyous, wonderful record from start to finish.
Upbeat jazzy songs. Voice sometimes goes rough but it’s done well. Really good album with variation between songs, some fast and some slow
So, so cool. Those lush backing vocals are a perfect platform to launch Bobby's crooning voice. It's fabulous.
my favorite album yet! know I will be returning to this. story about Bobby Womack and Sam Cooke is soo crazy listened to it again and again
Proved soul wasn’t dead with the advent of the 80s, it just needed to adapt. “If You Think You’re Lonely Now” (yes, the sane song Mariah Carey references in “We Belong Together”) is a stone classic.
Me encantó, perfecto para quitarse el mal sabor de oído luego es escuchar alguno que no te haya gustado. No esperaba nada de el al igual que de la mayoría hasta ahora, pero se siente increíble cuando termina siendo una obra maestra como esta. La única que flojea un poco es Just My Imagination, pero, incluso así, sirve como respiro después de ese inicio tan emocionante
Á great album for a sunny day longing back to some 80's vibe, the funkyness of the first half the album was very enjoyable, after that it become a bit more souly which is awesome, but less my vibe.
good ass soul. this music is just the best kinda music and this album was overall really great. nice one bobby. best track = If You Think You’re Lonely Now. 4.7
That was 11 herbs and spices of fun music. To get in on the DKRS (Dave Kendrick Rating Scale, patent pending) I give it 4 original recipes
I've heard the name Bobby Womack but can't say that I could name a song. I really enjoyed listening to this album.
Así, en la primera escucha, me pareció como música de cena/fiesta elegantiosa y luego que pensé que eso me sucede sobre todo por la educación visual (películas y series donde pasa eso más o menos). Luego entonces me cruzó por la mente si esto quizá sea algo medio "genérico". En fin, no investigué más, pero la voz de Bobby me parece cool y todo aquí es muy enérgico. También creo que es algo que escucho muy poco y en moods muy especiales, quizá. Mis favs: "Lay Your Lovin' On Me" y "Stand Up" por muy animada. 7.5/10
kinda fresh, kinda funky. 7/10, strong across the board but the bass player carried the opening track
Hat mich beim ersten Mal hören nicht so umgehauen aber es wird immer besser (ich habe nicht getrunken).
Not what I'd normally listen to but the singers voice was really smooth and I think overall it's a very nice and well-made album. And I liked the bass!!
Great mix of funk, soul, R&B (& maybe a little disco)! Great voice and danceable basslines.
Gillar verkligen albumet! Bästa låtar: So Many Sides Of You Just My Imagination If You Think You're Lonely Now
Bobby is quite the entertainer! Every song was great. Not giving it 5 stars only because I probably will not come back to listen again
Always new who he was, but this is first time listening to an album of his. Real good song writer. What ever happened to this good style of R&B.
Weirdly I couldn't stream the first 3 songs of this album on Spotify, but the last ones were dope especially If You Think You're Lonely Now.
Very solid album with plenty of variety but it all feels familiar! My favorites had to be Secrets and Where Do We Go From Here.
Not something I would normally listen to but I dig it. R/B with bluesy elements at times.
I liked, funky... Its not a master piece, but pretty cool to listen and relax...
75. The Poet - Bobby Womack 8 tracks. This is great. Barry White meets Stevie Wonder with a little sprinkling of Luther & Alex. I didn't know there were Womack's other than Womack & Womack until now. His life story seems.... interesting. Flushed face 4/5
I didn't realize the impact Bobby Womack had. I saw the movie, One Night in Miami and I learned about the influence he had on Sam Cooke and the crazy story about his personal life. Womack married Sam Cooke's widow, but then his brother married Cooke's daughter! Then Womack carried out an affair with the daughter while married to the widow! This led to Womack being shot at by Cooke's widow and to their divorce, but the daughter married his brother and worked with Womack on a ton of records! Crazy. Anyway, this is a great album. First Bobby Womack album I've ever listened to. I knew Across 110th Street, which is amazing, but this dude is great! So much soul in his voice. I'll admit, this album sounds more dated than his earlier stuff. The 80s are all over this thing, but he sounds great, and it reminds me a lot of Prince at times.
Groovy, funky, pretty upbeat - not my chosen genre but I enjoyed the hell out of it. Really cool surprise. 4/5.
What a nice, smooth listen. I absolutely loved the version of "Just My Imagination". So different to hear that tune not motown'ed out.
Very listenable pop music. Sometime the lyrics seem a little simple and sometimes derivative.
This was a good album, soulful and funky as you'd expect it to be. I didn't vibe with it as much as I would have liked to, though - there were a few weak tracks that I didn't enjoy that much. Stand Up was a highlight though, that song was so good.
First listen. Funky, soulful, definitely a 1981 sounding R&B album and quite good. The songs seem to fall into three categories: Funky songs where you hear the Sly and the Family Stone and Funkadelic influences. Pop songs sounding very similar to other R&B pop acts of the day like Kool & the Gang and Ray Parker Jr. And finally his strongest songs which is why this album made the list and have much more slow-paced traditional soulful sound with a jazz-based guitar and horns. His crooning voice dominates. These songs remind me somewhat of the Isley Brothers and the one hit and song that I heard before "If You Think You're Lonely Now" fall into this category.
Very funky album. I enjoyed the sound and it gave me real R&B feelings!