Bobbi Martin - Tomorrow (2021) Hi-Res

Buddah Records gave Bobbi Martin a chance with this 1971 album, which attempts to recast her as a female Elvis Presley, '70s style. Martin's traditional pop vocal approach has given way to a gravelly, soulful sound (listen to her funky grunts on "Sentimental Journey"). She sports a new look, too -- on the back cover, she bears a striking resemblance to Mac Davis! Unfortunately for Martin, the stylistic makeover failed to revive her flagging career and Buddah dropped her the following year. Heard in the context of her history as an old-fashioned pop thrush, Tomorrow has a desperate quality, as though Martin is going for broke trying to make something happen (which probably isn't far from the truth). The original song "John F. Kennedy Was His Name" is a notable attempt at social consciousness in the vein of "In the Ghetto" or "Six White Horses," and "Sentimental Journey," as previously mentioned, is pretty bizarre. Not all of the music is so far-out -- "A Place for Me" and "For As Long As I Live" wouldn't have sounded out of place on one of Martin's late-'60s United Artists albums. The title track was a minor adult contemporary hit and "No Love at All" was an extremely minor pop hit, but Tomorrow sold poorly and Martin's recording career was nearly at its end.