There are some last names in music that are just synonymous with soul music...like Winans or Womack. And from the latter family comes Asaph Womack whom I first heard singing on the Easy Street 12" release Shelter Me (that was one of the best gospel house releases in 2002).
Asaph's first performance was at his Father's church in Newark, NJ with the children's choir-The Sunbeams. Citing James Cleveland, The Hawkins Family, Andrea Crouch, Aretha Franklin, The Winans, Richard Smallwood, Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams as his influences it's obvious that Asaph has a strong liking for gospel music. But his album My Love My Life puts the emphasis on real soul music and is one of the finest soul albums in 2002.
The first track My Prayer pays direct homage to Asaph's faith. Here Asaph tells his prayer over Haupt Voll Blut Und Wunden by Johann Sebastian Bach. And this is the only song Asaph hasn't written with his music partner Gil Small. They both produced all 13 songs and played the instruments. And with the use of piano, keys, organ, guitar, trumpet, cello and even sitar they produce an overall warm and organic sound, that's up with all the Chico DeBarges, D'Angelos or Kenny Lattimores out there.
The main focus lyricwise is love or like Asaph puts it: 'If you are in love, out of love, in need of love, looking for love, wanna feel love, or miss the one you love, this CD is definitely for you.'
With 12 songs and one bonus track there's much to choose from, whether you take the pleasant up-/midtempo songs like I Tried It All (where Asaph tells us about his previous unsteady life), You're The One (that finds Asaph with a love he longed for so long) or She Loves Me, She Loves me Not (the bonus track) or great ballads like Sunshine, Tell Me Girl, I Apologize or Key To My Heart.
And there's much more like the heavenly I Love You with it's organ, slight gospel feeling and Asaph's ecstatic singing; or Come Back To Me, another highlight where Asaph reaches some high notes towards the end of the song.
The only song that's a little bit irritating is The 5 W's that is spoiled by it's bubbly sound effect, but with 12 other strong songs here on offer My Love My Life is really a great record that together with some other good albums makes 2003 a very good year musicwise and it makes it also difficult to pick up the one album of the year but Asaph will be certainly somewhere on top of my personal best-of-list.