Personnel includes: Bobby Womack (vocals, guitar); Patti LaBelle (vocals); David T. Walker, Courtney Sappington, George Benson, Robert Palmer (guitar); Dorothy Ashby (harp); Rusty Hamilton (harmonica, synthesizer); Wilton Felder, Fred Wesley, Thurmon Green, Harry Kim, Sidney Mulgrow, Fernando Harkless (horns); Michael Wycoff (keyboards); Denzil "Broadway" Miller (synthesizer); David Shields (bass); James E. Gadson (drums, background vocals); Fred Johnson (DMX Electric drum); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).

Producers: Andrew Oldham, James E. Gadson, Bobby Womack.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

After a very successful come-back album with THE POET Bobby Womack got into legal wrangles with Beverly Glen Records over royalties. The court found that he must produce one more album for them, and this is it. Working closely again with old friend Jim Ford THE POET II confidently outsold its predecessor.

This album is full of soul grooves and hook-filled songs. Some would be difficult to fix in time, while there are a handful that ooze a typical mid '80s sound, such as "Tell Me Why," whose lyrics are reported to have been inspired by the legal battle with Beverly Glen. "American Dream" boasts being the first song to sample the "I Have A Dream" speech of Martin Luther King, and Patti LaBelle joins Bobby on the two singles "Love Has Finally Come At Last" and "It Takes A Lot Of Strength To Say Goodbye."

Q (12/94, p.173) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...just as good as its hallowed predecessor..."