The first notes Charles Bradley sings on Victim of Love, his 2013 sophomore release, are not words but moaned lamentations. A drawn out “ooh” reminds listeners who we are dealing with: The Screaming Eagle of Soul, who doesn’t simply sing. Bradley wails, pleads, begs and screeches his way through Victim of Love. Many tracks are love songs, but they’d be better described as songs of longing.
