Several years ago, while flipping through local radio stations, I came across a song that has a danceable beat, yet retains some Philly soul-like sound. The first half of the track involves a female singer crooning about how she was through with a man who pulls “rabbits out of his hat every day.” The next stanza uses magical and fairy-tale imagery to communicate how she wants to find a real man:
Houdini, Houdini, was great magician
He could crack a lock, oh yes he could
From any position
But my heart, is nothing like those locks
And your falling last of my brand of stock
Like little red riding hood, you‘re the fox
The song then segues into a dialogue, or battle of the sexes, between a Lothario and this same woman. He tries seduction: “Oh, Like Rudolph Valentino,/I can fall down on my knees/Pull flowers out my sleeve,” he tells her, but she remains unimpressed, stating “I can't understand that baby,” and “I need a little more.” In the end, the man grudging gives up, with the woman still trying to find her true love. This second section immediately grabbed and held my attention, and I began a mission to find that track, “Baby I'm Scared of You.” Due to its retro sound, I assumed that it dated from the mid-to-late 1970s. To my surprise, the song came from a 1983 album entitled Love Wars by Womack & Womack, and listening to the rest of the CD revealed a talented duo who never received the recognition they deserved.
Article comments
1 - SeanM
Thank you Kit for highlighting 'Love Wars'
I totally concur with your recommendation and encourage all to hunt down a copy.
It's not just a great soul album, it's a great album, fullstop!
Love Wars is such a personal favorite that I have it in 3 recording formats.
To me it seems like a perfect musical condensation of modern marriages as a roller-coaster of emotions and experiences
The album was not totally overlooked at the time, at least in the UK. I came across it when it was released because the UK's underground music weekly NME actually named Love Wars as song of the year and the album in the top 5 in 1984 which was stunning given NME's cheerleading for everything punk, New Wave or New Romantic.
A rare occasion when they showed sophisticated taste.....
And Geeks Corner trivia....
Cecil's older brother, Bobby Womack was Sam Cooke's backing guitarist and later married Cooke's widow.
And Linda Womack is actually Sam Cooke's daughter!
Oh the family complications!
And the covers of the Rolling Stones songs are probably no coincidences as Bobby Womack actually wrote The Rolling Stones' first UK number 1 song "It's All Over Now"
2 - Kit O'Toole
Thanks for commenting, Sean, and for all the interesting info. I think "Love Wars" is finally available through iTunes now. When I first got the album, I had to buy an import through Amazon! Again, why the album was overlooked in the U.S. is beyond me. Thanks again!