Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack

Last updated
Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack
Facts of Life The Soul of Bobby Womack.jpeg
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 25, 2009 (2009-08-25)
Length48:28
Label Shanachie
Producer Tres Gilbert
Calvin Richardson chronology
When Love Comes
(2008)
Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack
(2009)
America's Most Wanted
(2010)

Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack is the fourth studio album American singer-songwriter Calvin Richardson. It was released by Shanachie Records on August 25, 2009 in the United States. A tribute album dedicated to singer Bobby Womack, Richardson was chosen to record the album to coincide with Womack's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It peaked at number 30 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, [1] and garnered two nominations for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards. [2]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Creative Loafing Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
PopMatters 7/10 [5]

AllMusic editor Thom Jurek rated the album three and a half stars out of five and called it a "wildly ambitious but logical step. The dangers in doing a tribute to a legendary artist, especially Womack, one of soul music’s most storied and colorful legends as both a singer and songwriter, is a daunting task. But Richardson’s and Womack’s voices are very similar, though the latter’s is not as rough as the former’s and has more gospel in it, which works very well in adding to most of these songs." [3] Chris Rizik from SoulTracks called Facts of Life an "extremely enjoyable, well performed album that provides a new generation with a glimpse of the body of work of one of the most gifted artists of the prior generation. Those young’ens should be rightfully blown away by Facts of Life." [6]

PopMatters critic Tyler Lewis found that "from an artistic standpoint, this is clearly a project that is special for Richardson. That is probably why he doesn’t mess with perfection, by covering the songs and recording with actual musicians, which gives the album the kind of texture missing from even the best soul music recorded now. That he doesn’t really mess anything up (although he sounds oddly out of his depth on album opener “Across 110th Street”) is a testament to just how beautiful a singer he is. But there is just no denying that he has sounded just as good, if not better, on his own material." [5] Writing for Creative Loafing , L. Michael Gipson wrote that "Richardson’s commitment to traditional interpretations of this popular material highlights Womack’s skill as a lyricist and arranger on par with Barry White, Leon Ware and Willie Hutch [...] Try as Richardson might — and he tries hard here — he just doesn’t have that enviable problem." [4]

Commercial performance

Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack debuted at number 30 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the week of September 18, 2010. [7] It marked his lowest-charting project by then. [7] The album also debuted number 50 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart. [8]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Tres Gilbert. [4]

Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Across 110th Street" Bobby Womack 3:54
2."You're Welcome, Stop On By"
  • Womack
  • Truman Thomas
3:55
3."Harry Hippie" Jim Ford 4:03
4."Woman Got to Have It"
  • Darryl Carter
  • Linda Cooke
  • Womack
3:49
5."American Dream"
  • Womack
  • Jim Ford
4:35
6."Daylight"
  • Womack
  • Harold Payne
3:23
7."That's the Way I Feel About Cha"
  • Womack
  • John Grisby
  • Joseph Hicks
4:47
8."Love Has Finally Come at Last" (featuring Ann Nesby)5:17
9."I Can Understand It"Womack4:47
10."I'm Through Trying to Prove My Love to You"Womack4:16
11."Fact of Life"/"He'll Be There When the Sun Goes Down"Womack5:43
Total length:55:31

Personnel

Performers and musicians

Technical

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack
Chart (2009)Peak
position
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [8] 50
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [7] 30

Release history

Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack release history
RegionDateFormatLabelRef(s)
United StatesAugust 25, 2009 Shanachie [9]

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References

  1. R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack – Calvin Richardson . billboard.com; 2009 [cited September 27, 2011].
  2. "Calvin Richardson > Nominations". Grammy.com. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Allmusic review
  4. 1 2 3 Gipson, L. Michael (September 1, 2009). "Record Review – Calvin Richardson: Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack". Creative Loafing . Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Lewis, Tyler (June 28, 2022). "Calvin Richardson: Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack". PopMatters . Retrieved August 26, 2009.
  6. Rizik, Chris. "Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack". SoulTracks . Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 "Calvin Richardson Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Calvin Richardson Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  9. "Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack". Apple Music (US). Retrieved June 28, 2022.