Midnight Mover: The Bobby Womack Story

The collection starts with the Memphis-style soul of “Midnight Mover,” but Bobby Womack quickly outgrew the Southern R&B that had brought fame to many of his '60s peers. He came into his own at the dawn of the '70s, and his signature style coalesced around “That’s The Way I Feel About Cha,” a poignant love song that's somehow both skeletal and lush. This model brought Womack success with a string of equally brilliant recordings, including “Woman’s Gotta Have It,” “Nobody Wants You When You’re Down and Out," and “I’m Through Trying to Prove My Love to You.” A proponent of fine songcraft, Womack gravitated toward popular songs, and his versions of “Sweet Caroline,” “Fly Me to the Moon," and “That’s Heaven to Me” show that he never failed to put his own stamp on well-loved standards. “Communication,” “Across 110th Street," and “Harry Hippie” (written for Womack’s murdered brother) reflect the social tumult of the early '70s. But equally audacious and far more underrated is the work Womack did with country and western styles, represented here by an elegantly ragged take on “Tarnished Rings.”