Thursday 22 October 2015

Womack & Womack - Conscience, album review

Car Cassette Grooves

I've been playing cassettes in my car as the cd stacker has gone doolally, and thankfully I hadn't chucked all of them away [I did get rid of two large full suitcase loads years ago]. I kept all of the original cassette 'albums', and kept all of my personally memorable self-taped collections, most of which I have enjoyed recently as I had to have something to play in the car. A happy outcome from a mechanical nuisance.

One of the most recent cassette albums I have been playing over and over is Conscience by Womack and Womack. I had forgotten how stunning this is. There was the success of the superb single Teardrops from this album - which will have prompted me to buy originally - but every other track is brilliant, Cecil and Linda Womack writing and performing a sustained set of deeply grooved material, the lyrics as thoughtful narratives on Life, from the nature and impact of true friendship - or its loss - to, in the title track, the philosophical musings on how to discover my deep destiny undercover, and however twee that might sound, the music wraps these considerations in either pulsing beats and soothing grooves that are so affecting they make the thinking authentic.

I think that might overstate: it is the music that track after track impacts, as on Slave where there is such a brooding tone and a haunting but sweet chorus. Celebrate the World embraces lyrically the joy in the music-making, and I Am Love is a poetic litany of romantic love performed lovingly. A delightful listen.

I might have to take it back out to the car now.


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