The Poet II is the fourteenth studio album by American musician Bobby Womack . The album was released in 1984, by Beverly Glen Music.[ 4] The album features three duets with fellow soul legend Patti LaBelle , including the top three R&B charted ballad, "Love Has Finally Come At Last", and the more modest follow-up, "It Takes a Lot of Strength to Say Goodbye". It also includes the top 75 UK dance hit, "Tell Me Why". The UK music magazine NME named it the best album of 1984.[ 5]
Title Writer(s) 1. "Love Has Finally Come at Last" Bobby Womack, Patrick Moten [ 6] 5:36 2. "It Takes a Lot of Strength to Say Goodbye" Chris Brubeck 3:52 3. "Through The Eyes of a Child" Bobby Womack, Jim Ford 5:21 4. "Surprise, Surprise" Bobby Womack, Jim Ford 3:38 5. "Tryin' To Get Over You" Bobby Womack, Jim Ford 4:16 6. "Tell Me Why" Bobby Womack, Jim Ford 6:16 7. "Who's Foolin' Who" Bobby Womack, Jim Ford 4:02 8. "I Wish I Had Someone to Go Home To" Cecil Womack , Linda Womack 3:47 9. "American Dream" Bobby Womack, Jim Ford 4:40
"American Dream" contains an excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr. 's 1963 speech "I Have a Dream "
Bobby Womack – vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, arrangements
Patti LaBelle – vocals
Courtney Sappington, David T. Walker , George Benson , Robert Palmer – guitar
David Shields – bass
Michael Wycoff – keyboards
Denzil "Broadway" Miller, Frank "Rusty" Hamilton – synthesizer
James E. Gadson – drums
Fred Johnson – electronic drums
Paulinho da Costa – percussion
Frank "Rusty" Hamilton - harmonica
Fernando Harkless, Fred Wesley , Harry Kim, Sidney Muldrow, Thurman Green, Wilton Felder – horns
Dorothy Ashby – harp
James Gadson, Kathy Bloxson, Regina Womack, The Valentinos , Luther Waters, Julia Waters, Oren Waters, Maxine Waters – background vocals
David Blumberg – string arrangements
Technical
Otis Smith – executive producer
Barney Perkins - mix engineer
^ Jason Elias. "The Poet II - Bobby Womack | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards" . AllMusic . Retrieved 2015-09-07 .
^ Colin Larkin (2006). "Womack, Bobby" . The Encyclopedia of Popular Music . Vol. 8 (4th ed.). Muze, Oxford University Press . p. 751–2. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4 .
^ Kris Needs, "From Bad To Verse", Record Collector , no. 518 (May 2021), p. 111
^ "iTunes - Music - The Poet II by Bobby Womack" . Itunes.apple.com. 1944-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-07 .
^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year" . NME . 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2018 .
^ "Bobby Womack Featuring Patti LaBelle - The Poet II (Vinyl, LP, Album)" . Discogs . Retrieved 4 January 2019 .