Bobby Womack is relaunching his career after what amounts to a two-decade, self-imposed exile* and he can’t get his doctor to cooperate.

There’s so much to do, Womack says in a gravelly* voice, which has aged like the most expensive single-malt* whiskey. Yet his doctor has ordered him to shut down for nearly two weeks — an eternity* for a restless man seeking a rare second act at age 68.

“You know, I had prostate* cancer, then they got rid of that and discovered I had colon* cancer. Then after that my lungs completely shut down and they had to put me on a machine and I was out in a coma for 10 days. Then after that I had walking pneumonia* — twice. So there’s only so much the body can take. I want to go back to work, but the doctor says, ‘Man, you’ve got to rest 10 days and not do nothing.’ Womack said in a telephone interview from his Los Angeles home, ‘Because we done lost you,’ and he said, ‘It’s a miracle you’re walking around.’”

And Womack can’t disagree, especially when you take the long view.

A gospel and soul singer, a songwriter and a guitar player with few peers*, Womack is largely a forgotten figure today — but one who is getting a close re-examination. His new album, “The Bravest Man in the Universe,” was produced by Damon Albarn, and Womack has ambitious plans for a tour later this year — if his body and doctor cooperate.

His return is a welcome development for those who recognize his major contributions to modern music — as Sam Cooke’s guitarist, the writer of the Rolling Stones’ first hit and someone who scored many of his own during his solo career. Some worried Womack might not have the same vitality that made him one of the most inspiring and imitated artists of his generation. And even Womack wondered sometimes. He admits to having seizures during his tour with Albarn’s Gorillaz several years ago and his health problems loomed large.(SD-Agencies)