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Bobby Womack: So Many Rivers (MCA)

Brian Case, Melody Maker, 14 September 1985

IS BOBBY Womack, in the words of his song, the only survivor left standing here? Soul has suffered a death rate comparable with early bebop, and he lists his late friends at the start of 'Only Survivor' to the melancholy accompaniment of trap-set taps — Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and more. The easy answer is no, not while Bobby Bland, Lionel Richie and re-converts like Al Green and Aretha are still capable of playing hookey, but the real question is what happened to soul?

Total word count of piece: 620

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