Howard ''Youngblood'' Bomar - I Who Have Nothing (2023) Jetstar/Sundazed - Rare Soul/Funk (FLAC)

Born in St. Louis IN 1943, Bomar fell in love with the sounds of James Brown and Sam Cooke. When his mother got a job in Denver, she brought her teenage son out west. Before long, he began making his name as a dynamic young performer who could shout like his pants were on fire or croon intensely enough to set someone else’s pants on fire. Bomar’s talent can be heard on his rendition of “I’ll Be There,” a soul-soaked recasting of The Everly Brothers’ 1955 classic “Let It Be Me.” He also cut a surging, organ-fueled take on Junior Walker’s explosive R&B milestone “Shotgun,” and a version of “What Love Has Joined Together” that adds some serious hip-swinging potential to the Smokey Robinson/Bobby Rogers penned ballad. Bomar brings both grit and grace to “I’m Gonna Love You,” a jumping, James Brown-indebted tune A-side he wrote with organist Al Moore. Previously unheard recordings like a revamped “I Who Have Nothing,” the saucy soul blues “She’s a 911,” and a transcendent take on Prince’s “Purple Rain” offer a glimpse of the lion’s later years. With the gravitas of maturity, Bomar could generate even more pathos than in his youth.  Howard “Youngblood” Bomar has been over looked for many years until now so amends have been made. Now we have a 16 track collection that features his 1960s 45 soul sides and previously unreleased later period recordings.The last five are unreleased tracks, the first of which “Down Home Georgia Girl” has a bit of dare we say disco flavor while the delayed back beat “Crazy Bout You Baby” begins in spoken testifying style before Bomar goes into a Al Green like croon. The funky “Something Beautiful” is infused with Latin percussion to fortify the percolating rhythms that bring out a hard edged grit in Bomar’s vocals rarely heard until this point while he delivers the late night R&B romantic vibe in “I’d Like To Be” and the closing “Just Let Me Love You.” As we traverse through Bomar’s early and later periods, we hear just about every style of soul music. It’s difficult to ascertain one distinctive style for the gifted singer and that may explain why he stayed under the radar for so long. Nonetheless, it’s a worthwhile career perspective for one who surely embraced the essence of the soul. An all round superb slab of soul from another great "unknown" to some. Jetstar records sure had some talent back in the day although this album contains his output for TST & D&W Prods.

AMM 

                                                   Review Courtesy Of Hakase & Thank You!