The Poet I & II

This is a very good pairing of probably the two best albums that Bobby Womack made in the 1980s. Overall, the songs may not be quite as memorable as his landmark recordings from the 1970s, but the tunes are still very soulful and very high in quality. The biggest negative about this resissue is the cheap packaging. You get plenty of music for your money (nearly 78 minutes) on a single disc, but there is no booklet or anything resembling adequate liner notes to accompany the CD. They don't even list the original recording dates of these two albums! Shameful.The first album, "The Poet" was released in 1981 and hailed as Womack's big comeback at the time. It starts off with the the sweet "So Many Sides of You," a tune that uses reggae rhythms not unlike Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster", a song that was a huge hit the year before. I think that song might have inspired Mr. Womack. The rest of the material on "The Poet" is quite strong, ranging from sweet soul ballads to funkier uptempo numbers. The other album, "The Poet II", came out in 1984 and was more of a mixed bag, but still pretty darn good. It also included duets with Patti Labelle on three tracks. Others guests include the Crusaders' Wilton Felder on horns, and various members of the extended Womack musical family.If you enjoy this era of R&B and soul music, these two albums are well worth your attention. But next time they think about reissuing these two fine album, why not beef up the package and give us a proper booklet with essay and liner notes? Bobby Womack and his music deserve better treatment.

simply poetic

Bobby is one of the best soul singers in recorded music Sam Cooke's protégé but Womack's voice was more rough & raw these 2 albums especially poet 1 is at his best, great service & delivery from Amazon

Love the music, disappointed case came cracked.

Good CD, good R&B music, little blues, but overall a good CD

Bobby Womack was one of my favorite singers. These CDs were an excellent price.

great

I HAVE BROUGHT 2 OF HIS CD AND THEY BOTH SAID THEY WERE GREAST HITS AND THEY WERE NOT.

Great soundz

A Classic of the Womack Cannon, with great production and Bobbys voice probably best best it's ever been. A cool mix of disco, mid-tempo soul and heartfelt ballads this LP is the best entry point if you're looking to get into Bobby's world. Highly recommended.

Superb collection

I owned these albums on vinyl and when Booby Womack died I thought I should buy the cds. The albums are as good as I remember. Intelligent and soulful. A great value package having Poet 1 and 2 on the same CD. Theses albums very much represent the peak of Bobby Womacks later career.

The Poet 1: BW's very inspired set, particularly "Lay your lovin on me", "If you think youre lonely now" and one the best BW's ballads "Where do we go from here" - if you' re a fan, get this one.The Poet 2: Not BW's best, but nevertheless quite nice stuff, the duets are very acomplished.