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Tommy Womack "There I Said It!"
by Jay Johnson |
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Over the years Tommy Womack developed
self-doubt, self-delusion and fear of failure and insignificance into an
art form. It was his own personal art form that existed within the
walls of his primary artistry, music. Beginning with his days in
Government Cheese, and perhaps before, he dealt with his human frailties
and demons with an irreverent sense of humor, alcohol and an array of
drugs of both the prescription and non-prescription variety. Now, in
his mid-forties, several years after what he thought might have been his
last record, and with a nervous breakdown in his rearview mirror, Tommy
Womack has released “There I Said It!” which is one of the most inspired
and courageous albums I’ve ever heard! Yeah, I’m talking about Tommy
Womack. The skinny guy from Kentucky has stripped away all
pretensions and laid bare emotions and thoughts that even the bravest
among us don’t like thinking about or admitting to let alone singing
about. The wry sense of humor remains intact, but much of the
coyness is gone having been replaced by unvarnished honesty.
The album opens with a folky, almost haunting plea to God to “whisper the songs upon me” and “show me how to feel” in “A Songwriter’s Prayer.” Tommy is accompanied by a talented group of musicians and vocalists throughout, notably his “Daddy” co-conspirator and guitar genius Will Kimbrough. The song “Nice Day” is a perfect blend of angst, humor and melody enveloping the yearning that we all have to somehow be good at what’s really important to us, and maybe hear our kids say “I love you.” “25 Years Ago” tells the age-old story of wide-eyed dreamers that arrived in Nashville years ago full of energy, spunk and gumption and are laboring for a living a quarter of a century later. The song features some great pedal steel and dobro work by Smith Curry and segues nicely into the scintillating guitar work by the aforementioned Mr. Kimbrough and Tommy’s son, Nathan, on the next song, a bluesy number called “Too Much Month At The End Of The Xanax.” “I’m Never Gonna' Be A Rock Star” is an insightful, telling admission by Tommy, but it’s not really about being a rock star. It’s about the twists and turns that all of our lives take and how it’s not those twists and turns, but how we react to them, that largely determines our level of happiness with life. I don’t know anyone my age that is what they dreamed of being back when they were attaching baseball cards to their bicycle spokes with clothes pins, but Tommy tells us that maybe that’s okay. At least that’s what it’s about to me… Overall, the theme to “There I Said It!” is
one of various forms of acceptance. Accepting the sublime, the ridiculous,
appreciating what is and not worrying about what ain’t. Go out and
buy a copy of “There I Said It!” and listen to it one time. I
guarantee you’ll be impressed by the songwriting and musicianship and, as
an added bonus, you’ll laugh and think, probably at the same time. Visit Tommy Womack's website at www.tommywomack.com where you can purchase the CD and find out more about this artist. Jay Johnson, March 2007 Email Jay about this review |
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