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by: Solomon Burke

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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: Rating: - R&B Record of the Year The best male R&B album of the year has recently been released and it is not by a fresh, new voice but by this 66 year-old member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Unless you are an R&B maven, chances are you, like us, are more familiar with Solomon Burke's name and reputation than you are with his work. He never had a Top 20 hit, thus never achieved the popularity of some of his contemporaries, say Percy Sledge or Clarence Carter. Nevertheless, when the roll of the great soul singers is called, his name is invariably among them. Burke sings with what the liner notes so accurately refer to as 'passionate restraint'. Although his vocals display the same intensity as Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett, they seem much more effortless, as natural as a lion's roar. What makes this album so special and what we imagine will be the pinnacle of Burke's career is that nearly every song has been written especially for him by some of the great songwriters of our time. Dan Penn, Van Morrison, Tom Waits, Joe Henry, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Nick Lowe, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil...that's a rock & roll hall of fame right there. And Burke puts his own inimitable stamp on each. Backed by a powerhouse band including Burke's church organist Rudy Copeland and inobtrusively produced by Joe Henry, this gives the whippersnappers something to shoot for. Rating: - Soul Music Is Alive And Well ! The great Atlantic R n'B producer Jerry Wexler was once asked who he thought was the greatest of all the soul giants he had worked with.He answered "Solomon Burke, with a good band". Well Solomon's got a great band working with him here. Under the spare,sympathetic production of Joe Henry,this studio outfit smoulders under the slow burn genius of Solomon Burke. I'm not much given to hyperbole, but I truly believe that this CD can stand with any of the classic Stax or Atlantic masterpieces of the 60's you'd care to name. It's just that good.Right from the git go on Dan Penn's title tune, the Reverend Burke serves notice that he has lost none,none, of his power and charisma as a song stylist. From that first organ chord you are transplanted to a better place.If anything age has improved Solomon Burkes voice.He has lost none of the gospel melisma of his youth and employs it with panache on the two Van Morrison tracks "Fast Train", and "Only A Dream".But time has added a patina of grit and gruffness that enable Solomon to tackle Tom Wait's joyous "Diamond In Your Mind" with a Louis Armstrong growl and Joe Henry's "Flesh And Blood" like an uptown bluesman in the Jimmy Witherspoon mold,while still sounding like himself.Many great songsmith's contributed to this CD,so let's blast through with some instant grades for the composers.Solomon gets an A+ for his singing. Okay.... Dan Penn (and friends) get an A for the churchy title tune. Van gets two A's for his gospel songs. Waits gets an A, he's hilarious.Brian Wilson gets a B for his Doo-Woppy "Soul Searchin".Elvis Costello gets a C- for "The Judgement" cuz there's no tune there.The Dylan song is a C but why did the producer pick it in the first place? Nick Lowe 's "Other Side Of The Coin" is an A+.Just perfect.Mann-Weill's "None Of Us Are Free rates an A cuz it's like a Staples song you think you've missed.And finally an unknown Pick Purcell gets an A for the soulful "Sit This One Out".I'm hoping this CD is a financial success so that others like Wilson Pickett and William Bell might be inspired to come out with something this good. Soul music is alive and well and it's name is Solomon Burke. Rating: - Great soul from the master One of the true legends of soul returns to form with a great disc. Solomon takes songs written by some great songwriters and makes them his own. His voice has never sounded better, and these songs are well suited for him. (As a big Elvis Costello fan, I was surprised that his song is the weakest on the disc). This is a great disc that is not about current styles or trends - a timeless example of a legend justifying his reputation. If you've never heard Solomon Burke before, do yourself a favor and see him perform live, and/or buy his live disc "Soul Alive" and hear why he's one of the greatest live soul singers ever.

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