What You Won't Do for Love

Artist: Bobby Caldwell
Label: Sin-Drome Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 715776888928
EAN: 0715776888928
ASIN: B000001PGZ

Release Date: 1991-08-06

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Listmania:

Musicman's Favorite Slow Jams Of All Time
Kind of Cool
Cool Out Music
Acid - Smooth - Trippy Jazz
Music I Love
Blue-Eyed Soul(-ish)
True "BLUE" Soul
My Favorite Albums Of The Century

Tracks:

Special To Me
My Flame
Love Won't Wait
Can't Say Goodbye
Come To Me
What You Won't Do For Love
Kalimba Song
Take Me Back To Then
Down For The Third Time

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Customer Reviews:

Pleasant but Lightweight.......2005-07-22

A friend recently decided to thin out her huge CD collection, and she offered me my pick of the ones she was donating to charity. I grabbed this one, because I had fond memories of the song "What You Won't Do For Love" from the late '70s. I like this album, but I can see why I might wind up giving it away after a few years.

Caldwell's music is soulful and pleasant, but there's a lightweight quality to it. The melodies are catchy but forgettable, and the lyrics tend to be sugary and banal. Caldwell is a good singer, and his phrasing and timbre are reminiscent of Stevie Wonder, but Caldwell's songs have none of the sexual or socio-political edge or emotional depth of Wonder or other great soul artists.

Having said that, this album is solid easy listening fare. The song "What You Won't Do" stands the test of time as a distinctive pop soul classic. Other good songs include the ballads "My Flame" and "Take Me Back to Then." If you enjoy light, breezy pop soul, you'll probably like this CD.

You can't miss out on music like this!.......2004-12-24

This one that made it big for Bobby Caldwell. It's orignally titled "Bobby Caldwell" but was forced to change it due 2 total reasons. Can't say much about it, this is a good album that anybody who wants to hear good music 'cuz my dad said he's was once discovered by Barry White. Everybody should know that the title song to this CD is a all-time favorite slow jam one that would go on years to come.

I recommend u should buy this instead of a hip-hop/rap album I used to buy all the time.

No one should live without this!

some great stuff here, but simply not enough.......2004-11-22

This 1978 album was Bobby Caldwell's first--I believe it was originally a self-titled effort, and that the title was changed to "What You Won't Do for Love" when the song of the same name became a hit. There is some great stuff here, but unfortunately, it seems that Caldwell just didn't have enough material and/ or was in a hurry to meet a deadline, because there is a considerable amount of blatant filler, including overlong fades, & the album runs less than 35 minutes in the first place. Also, the lyrics are often very slight. He's clearly in disco territory on a couple songs--the album opening "Special To Me" is way too sugary, but the wonderfully melodic "Love Won't Wait" is an irresistible, somewhat jazz-flavored tune. The smooth, wistful soft rock ballad "My Flame" is captivating with great hooks, but there are a couple really weak ballads as well with the ridiculously sappy "Come To Me", and "Take Me Back To Then" which is a song about wanting to be a kid again and has a very annoyingly overblown lead vocal. Plus, the funk-flavored love ballad "Can't Say Goodbye" is really let down by the overwrought vocals, lame lyrics, & the excessive, overlong fade. The super mellow album closer "Down For The Third Time" has cool, jazzy guitar, & it's an infectiously catchy tune, but it has a fade that's really long, really repetitive, and really dull. He also slips in an instrumental fragment "Kalimba Song"--it's less than a minute & 1/2 long & fades out so abruptly that it leaves you with an undeniable "What, that's it?" feeling. There's no denying though that the soulful title track is a classic--it's got a great horn riff, cool orchestration, an ultra-catchy melody, & Caldwell's vocals on it are terrific--he sounds quite similar to Stevie Wonder, but without the annoyingly overdone 'show-biz' mannerisms that Wonder has a tendency to indulge in; this song also has a very long fade, but this time it's to nice effect--it's got a nice contemplative, atmospheric feel to it. In the end, the album is a heck of a mixed bag--it's a shame, because the best stuff demonstrates that Caldwell was capable of a masterpiece. As it is, this is still worth getting if you see it for a low price--there is some must-have material on here that makes the album worth having.

Torch Songs, Bobby's Way.......2004-10-31

Unrequited love can't get the best of you lovers out there -- that is, not if this sublime CD is part of your pop/R&B collection. I have the original CD of this set of songs, titled "Bobby Caldwell," and I love kicking back to listen to it when I'm feeling a bit haunted by ghosts, uh, lovers of the past.

My first time hearing "What You Won't Do for Love" was the morning of Valentine's Day on a Top 40 radio station. The DJ announced Bobby Caldwell's name excitedly, and I remember being puzzled because I had never heard of the singer before that day. I probably was late for school because Bobby Caldwell's smooth, soulful vocals blending with the Earth, Wind & Fire-influenced groove had me hypnotized in the middle of my room. Not since Deniece Williams' "Free," released the previous year, had I received such an exquisite lesson in adult-themed romance and intimacy.

As an adult, I love to imagine that Caldwell is crooning to me when I listen to slow cuts like "My Flame" and "Down for the Third Time." I also admire his fast-tempo tracks, but on the slow songs Caldwell gives a nod to Sinatra in his ability to transport the listener to a cozy jazz club setting. It's just Bobby and I, and he's onstage leaning down with the microphone toward me while I sit there blushing at the table-for-one -- ahem, sorry, I guess I got caught up in the moment.

While "What You Won't Do for Love" holds a special place in my memory, "My Flame" has become my favorite in recent years. On that track, the wistful kalimba and guitar pluck on the heartstrings while Caldwell interprets what could be any of our romantic experiences. For example, how many of us still have that "picture on the shelf" (or in the attic or closet -- but not buried there)? And how many of us wish we had a personal time machine that would allow us to demand to that former lover: "Tell me you still want me"? Just listen to the way Bobby Caldwell turns mellifluous on the word "flame" in the last refrain and you'll understand why he's a master of the torch song.

A final word about "My Flame": It has endurance not only in the minds of Caldwell's longtime fans but also in the music industry. Only a few years back, I got chills upon hearing Vanessa L. Williams' alluring cover of the song. (Only one of her greatest-hits collections includes "My Flame," so check out the track listing carefully.) It doesn't matter whether it was her decision or her record label's to record it, but she personified Desire in a way that probably made Caldwell proud -- royalties aside.

As for the midtempo "Down for the Third Time," Caldwell sounds as hip as ever singing about love and independence. The song's melodic ending, with its descending chord progression and Caldwell's undulating "oohs" and "ohs," is so infectious that you'll regret not having programmed the track back-to-back on your CD player.

This guy is a genius..........2004-02-09

Period. The CD is that good.

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