(RIP Cecil Womack) teardrops by womack & womack

s og ood

My dad was a W&W fan, and would play this in the car all the time. Actually suprised to learn recently that this came out in '88, it sounds a bit older somehow, like a late 70s/early 80s rare groove thing.

Anyway, yeah, it's ace.

Yep, great one.

Impossible not to like this.

yay!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C1UqHWGibk

kind of nice how everyone likes it. even I liked it, in 1988!

and there was that MM gag that 'she cries on Everett True'.

I think maybe what I like about it is ... the rhythm!

somehow feels like the perfect dynamic distance between off and on beats.

Unimpeachably great if you ignore the sexist twaddle of the concept album that surrounds it. There's a slightly eerie airiness to this song (in the rhythm and the production) that you don't hear in other soul duos. Lots of spaces that Linda doesn't fill with her contained vocals (like Warwick without the storm and stress of B&D). And the backup singers are ceded almost as much ground as she gets. Would love to hear Aretha "ruin" it. Didn't kd lang cover this? Or Elton John?

don't know the concept album!

Conscience. It's a great record. Just don't pay too close attention to the lyrics. And by all means, don't read along.

Love this so much. It makes me think of my mum a bit. It's like where her musical orbit and mine cross paths. Oh, and Joni Mitchell.

i had the LP but i don't remember the lyrics of the other tracks at all.. wish i still had it

And you know what reinforces that air of airiness is the fact that the recording studio in the video has windows! And they're letting in natural sunlight! You don't see that too often. And what's with all those high angles in such a relatively cramped space? There's something very off about the whole thing. Which makes it all the more intriguing.

LOVE the video clip. So glamorously unglamorous.

if you havent heard the 12 inch mix then it's (of course) recommended. stretches it out for like 7 & 1/2 min

Hey Tim, did you see the mashup of "Teardrops" with Cassie in "Related Videos"?!?!

Cassie ft. Womack & Womack - Me & You (Remix)

Not sure what remix I have of it on my ipod but it's pretty much flawless.

you probably love the fonzarelli remix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBKvxELhzQY

ha i discovered the video last only to discover i was beaten to it on ilx by 3 days!

last nite that is

Just bought a copy of the Conscience CD for $2 at Princeton Record Exchange last month. Really good album (though not quite as great as Womack & Womack's first two), and I didn't really notice any "sexist twaddle" myself. Anyway, this song was clearly the standout track; had no idea until now that it was a single, or video. Weird that nobody on this thread has discussed what the song is about -- clearly, she cheated on him, right? At least in the lyrics? Though I'm pretty sure they did songs about him cheating on her, too. They did as many trouble marriage songs in the '80s as X or Richard and Linda Thompson. Even named their best album Love Wars. Did they stay married?

xgau discusses the supposed concept here:

http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=womack+and+womack

Oh come on. It's your boilerplate wronged man-damned woman bullshit. "Teardrops" is the first time on the album (track five out of nine total) Linda gets a song to herself without Cecil pushing her out of the spotlight. Before that, it's four tracks of "aw, poor Cecil" and nothing from Linda's perspective besides the "leavin' here" that puts Cecil's conscience in a tailspin. Speaking of which, the opener "Conscious of My Conscience" is Cecil's song which means the entire album/concept comes from his perspective. Also, the first substantial vocal Linda gets (on "Friends (So Called)") concerns "the man" in the concept and how his friends fucked him over too (everyone's wrong but you, Cecil, right?). As if that weren't tragic enough for Him, we learn on the next cut that he didn't just love Linda but was a slave for her and she still walked out on him. The harlot! Her punishment? The "I was wrong therefore I'll be his slave now" coda at the end of "Slave (Just For Love)" (labeled as "His woman's dialogue").

It's only THEN that we hear "Teardrops" by which point Linda's departure comes off as the worst sin since Eve ate the apple. Gawd, reading all of this again SERIOUSLY sours the song. Heard on its own, at least we can pretend that the tears drop from joy rather than because Cecil paints her as such a hosebeast.

Linda finally shows some spunk on "Good Man Monologue." But yo - check the title. It's a woman's monologue too so why not "Good Man/Woman Dialogue?" And even at that, Cecil gets the last word. The last three songs try to patch things up. But none of them (not even the seam-ripping finale "Celebrate the World") dispel the notion that it was all evil Linda's fault!

Verdict: sexist waddle.

Still, I love every song. But this is a perfect object lesson in how the Album-As-Art-Form can fuck up some great tracks. Each one should have been released as a single a year apart from one another and, please, without Cecil's explanation of the concept (or "concept" or whatever).

And both "Teardrops" and "Celebrate the World" are ready for gay, Sylvester-esque, OTT disco versioning (preferably with the "connecting peace between woman and man" line from the latter modified a bit).

dude... it's just a song.

geesh.

No it's an album...dude. Geesh.

watever, the point holds.

Yeah, the internet thanks you for that insightful point.

i enjoy walking with a sexist waddle

calum waddle?

sometimes, men feel wronged. then they make albums about it. male-centric albums which, in retrospect, make them seem pretty foolish and even controlling. nonetheless, it remains a great album. and the words 'sexist twaddle' just sound really silly. no need to get all up on the cross on behalf of womankind about it - makes u sound mad self-righteous. xgua's review puts it nicely w/out breaking out into ilxor paragraphs

Stop stalking me.

hey kev if the rock critic thing doesn't pan out maybe you could be a couples therapist

I still want to know if the Womacks stayed together.

The song is good... I remember when it came out, it seemed likeable but maybe lightweight and disposable, but it has really stuck in my mind.

hey kev if the rock critic thing doesn't pan out

um hey mar, what rock critic thing? the presumption of familiarity here is riotous. what, did Cecil's wittle concept hit too close to home for some of y'all?

I still want to know if the Womacks stayed together.

Some accounts say they are still married and that they both live in Africa; others say just Linda moved to Africa.

'hosebeast'?

picked up this album because of this thread. it's seriously beautiful. kind of an adult contemporary version of a boogie album. in different ways reminds me of Peter Brown's "A Fantasy Love Affair" where it's like disco mixed with steely dan or Nona Hendryx's - Skindiver album that's like boogie/r'n'b mixed with david sylvian ambient soundscapes.

i think cecil looks like Birdman

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf200/f251/f25130o9k0d.jpg http://www.hiphoprx.com/content/uploads/2007/11/birdman-headshot.jpg

yah i just got this too, great record
theres an amazing mix of that song about how life is like a game of baseball out there ... its on some danny rampling comp i also picked up

can't stop listening to this album.

but the liner notes written from cecil's perspective really are a bummer

ok so i bought the single of 'missing person's bureau' & it comes w/ a 9 minute 'paradise ballroom mix' -- anyone have an mp3 of that? my record player is broken & im supposed to dj tomorrow, want to play this but have no idea what it sounds like

there is also a 'motor temple edit' and a folk version

just read the notes -- the 12" is produced by frankie knuckles & david morales!

YSI

so thats a no ...

im an amateur in the ways of w&w, but what songs of theirs match up to teardrops and love wars?

frankie knuckles production sounds interesting

honestly everything i've heard by them is close to perfection.

"Baby I'm Scared of You" (and the amazing Mark E edit)

the whole Conscience album (from which teardrops comes from) and especially "Conscious Of My Conscience".

the Love Wars album is equally amazing. title track kills it. also has the original TKO that teddy pendergrass redid into Love TKO (that's been sampled a billion times).

recently picked up the Radio M.U.S.C. Man album and while it's great, nothing's sticking out for me yet.

i've only heard Conscience, which I love, but to me nothing on it can touch Teardrops, bar Conscious of My Conscience, which I first heard on the henrik schwarz dj kicks and which is a total jam.

lots of tracks on that album match those two songs. 'missing person's bureau' is probably my favorite right now.

I can't stop listening to Love Wars. Super album, especially "APB" and "Good Times."

xxxxpost. uh,,, that's Radio M.U.S.I.C. Man not MUSC. sounds like a bad perfume

werid thing is the LP cover says MUSC! this always threw me, maybe it was a typo?

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000002H2L.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

oh yah! thank god i'm not (totally) crazy. i guess it's supposed to be the radio station's call letters or something?

cover version of Teardrops http://www.myspace.com/thexx (not my fave song of theirs)

not the first
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF3-Bin5RgI

that was gawdawful

this is my favorite song right now. i want frankie knuckles to remix this RIGHT NOW-- i can almost hear it already.

surprised the lovestation garage cover hasn't been mentioned in this thread!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHNT7ZdmqN8

so many great memories of this song, it was so huge

Used to play the 1st album on my university radio show. Need to track down these again. "Teardrops" sounds great despite the lyrics.

reminds me baby of you

i was gonna post the lovestation version but i see i did that last time

& the music
don't feel like it did
when i felt it with you

otm

nothing that I do or feel ever feels like I felt with you

^^ this is my favourite miserable lyric ever

I listened to this just now.

Also every day

"sexist waddle"

that whole exchange up at top is pretty hilare

"Baby I'm Scared of You" (and the amazing Mark E edit)

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK

baby what chew want

ok so i bought the single of 'missing person's bureau' & it comes w/ a 9 minute 'paradise ballroom mix'... there is also a 'motor temple edit' and a folk version

this 'folk' version is balearic gold fwiw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0MS9q0hYvo

^^^^

supercool

"baby i'm scared of you" is definitely in my top 100 songs ever.

These days I find Love Wars a scarier record than Shoot Out the Lights or Blood on the Tracks.

they sure know how to create a sense of dread within a pop song

I got Radio M.U.S.I.C. Man today in mind condition thanks to Record Store Day -- the weakest of the three eighties releases to my ears. The singing and synth effects still top notch but there's no "TKO," "Love Wars," "Baby I'm Scared of You," or "Teardrops."

Someone on Yahoo soul email group is reporting that Cecil Womack has passed away at age 65

http://www.soultracks.com/story-cecil-womack-dies

:((((

Love Wars should be as immense as Shoot Out The Lights, Blood on the Tracks, and Wild Gift as makeup-to-breakup classic. RIP.

ah man, W&W is my dad's favourite music, i used put their stuff on my radio shows as a kid all the time

paradise ballroom mix of MPB is all time

xpost.

Love Wars is essential. And it's easily found in most record store dollar bins. You'd think this record would have been lifted up with the rest of the recent modern soul surge.

It will now.

RIP

Love Wars is classic indeed

Baby I'm Scared Of You should have been a huge hit.

yeah, that's a good one. i used to play that on repeat when i first found it.

''Love Wars' is a fantastic record...'Express Myself' is just lovely and their cover of 'Angie' is just sublime...RIP

RIP. such a special sound

Angie cover >>>>>> Stones

"Baby I'm Scared of You" is so amazing. I need all of the lps now.

has anyone heard Circular Motion (2007)?

Nope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nPwnu1R6QI

the rhythm track here is subtly amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFq0QGHqCbc

just a great duo
great songwriting, great singing, great production

"passion & pain" from the final '93 album, which i haven't seen yet in the wild. i did, however, find this 12, and it's loaded with those trademark w&w chords, rhythms, production. shit, so good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p-dEnsro5I

Listened to Love Wars and Conscience today. Really impressed with their chemistry and honest songwriting.

can a mod remove all the gross RIPs from these threads thx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP_cQtZna9A

god they were so good. why don't i have all the albums?

thanks for posting this, i played it at a dj thing last night and it sounded perfect.

did linda womack have the best voice? i believe so.

lol i posted that song in hopes that by butterfly effect it would end up in a dj set somewhere, didn't expect it to be so immediate <3