Solomon Burke: Buy

Like A Fire album is Solomon Burke's third Shout! Factory release following the Grammy nominated albums Make Do With What You Got and Nashville features songs written specifically for the Grammy winning King of Rock n' Soul by an all star group of songwriters, including Eric Clapton, Ben Harper, Jesse Harris and Keb' Mo. Like A Fire was produced by Grammy winning master drummer Steve Jordan, who has worked with Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Stevie Wonder, John Mayer and more.

Solomon Burke's return to country is as much a spiritual renewal as it is a reinterpretation of some of Nashville's greatest mainstream and Americana songs. The 66-year old King of Rock & Soul has always plied the gospel, of course, but Music City sometimes forgets to feel it in its bones. Buddy Miller, whose gritty hillbilly pleadings always carry a healthy dose of otherworldly soulfulness, is the right producer to bring it all together, since he invites such sidemen as Sam Bush, Kenny Vaughan, and Byron House, as well as guests/duet partners Patty Griffin, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, and Patty Loveless. This is the kind of album that clicks right off but continues to grow on you, such greasy, rolling blues-rock songs as Paul Kennerley and Barry Tashian's "Honey, Where's the Money Gone" loosening up your sacroiliac and Griffin's affecting "Up to the Mountain" morphing into a secular hymn in Burke's big hands. Not everything completely jells: The R&B chorines on "Vicious Circle" jar next to Miller's plinking banjo and Li'l Abner framework, and this rendition of his searing "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger" cries out for wife Julie's songbird harmonies. But when everybody sets their mouth right--as on Burke's duet with Harris on the George Jones/Tammy Wynette classic "We're Gonna Hold On"--the seas nearly part. Throw in some cockiness from the delightfully twisted psyche of Jim Lauderdale ("Seems Like You're Gonna Take Me Back") and Vaughan's blistering chicken-pickin' electric guitar, and lawdy, momma, ain't that good news today! --Alanna Nash

Though soul giant Solomon Burke's 2002 album DON'T GIVE UP ON ME was hailed as a comeback, in fact he had never gone away. Occupied by songs from the pens of famed rockers such as Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and Joe Henry, the record alerted the mainstream to Burke's continued magnificence, but it was just a continuation of his long journey.

The next stop on the trip, 2005's MAKE DO WITH WHAT YOU GOT, seems less geared toward crossover appeal. Burke does tackle a couple of tunes from the pop/rock pantheon, including the Band's sorrowful "It Makes No Difference" and Bob Dylan's reflective "What Good Am I?," but these seem even more naturally suited to his style than the songs that were tailor-made for him on his previous outing. His magisterial voice commands the arrangements in the same way a great Shakespearian actor commands a stage with a dramatic soliloquy. The production remains close to Burke's 1960s-soul roots, but adds a gritty edge that bespeaks the filter of a contemporary, rock-informed sensibility. It all adds up to a set of masterful performances from one of the greatest soul singers ever.

Of all the great male '60s soul singers--a short list that includes Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and James Brown--only Solomon Burke still actively records. More amazing, he's produced his best full-length album with Don't Give Up on Me. It's easy to give some credit to the album's star songwriters, who include Burke fans Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Brian Wilson, and Bob Dylan. But really it's the quality of the songs and Burke himself, one of the most versatile and charismatic singers around, that make this album so special.

The 11 songs range from the lazy, seductive plea of the title track and the gravelly gospel of "Diamonds in Your Mind" to the country-soul of "Other Side of the Coin" and the civil-rights-era urgency of "None of Us Are Free." Joe Henry's production is suitably subdued, and the instrumentation--generally guitar, bass, drums, organ, and piano--is sympathetic throughout. And if you doubt that Burke is the real star in a room crowded with those folks, consider this: the two slightest tracks here were written by Wilson and Costello, while one of the best, the album-closing "Sit This One Out," was written by someone named Pick Purnell. A great album not fixed in the past or fully of this decade, Don't Give Up is a crowning achievement of an R&B pioneer who has returned to reclaim his self-bestowed title from the '60s: "The King of Rock and Soul." --Keith Moerer

This reissue includes seven bonus tracks recorded during the PROUD MARY sessions.

Recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama in 1969 & 1970. Originally released on Amy (6033). Includes liner notes by John Fogerty and Bill Dahl.

Digitally ...    Full Descriptionremastered by Bob Irwin (Sundaze Studios, Coxsackie, New York).

Solomon Burke was one of the greatest voices to come out the 1960s soul explosion, the same period that produced James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and Otis Redding. Burke's style mixes mellow, country-tinged elegance with shouting, Southern gospel-charged R&B, and was an influence on the early British invasion. (Steve Marriott and Mick Jagger, to name two--and the Rolling Stones covered two of his songs). In the late '60s he left Atlantic and signed with Bell, and scored a hit with Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary."

This album serves as a fine representation of Burke's power and versatility: he recasts country classics "She Thinks I Still Care" and "That Lucky Old Sun" in his own soulful, reverent manner. He also produces a tantalizingly slow and bluesy take on Marvin Gaye's "I'll Be Doggone." The music is prime Muscle Shoals R&B, simmering and sharp, with just the right touch of pop "sweetening" (such as the electric sitar flourish on "How Big A Fool") in the tradition of the classic DUSTY (Springfield) IN MEMPHIS.

This double-CD set covers highlights from Solomon Burke's Atlantic career, from his first hit, the groundbreaking country soul of "Home in Your Heart," to later 1960s Southern soul sessions in Memphis. This enterprising minister, mortician, ...    Full Descriptionand father of 21 children had a successful '60s run on the R&B charts, and HOME IN YOUR HEART highlights the consistent quality of both his voice and his material.

The first disc is more pop-oriented; the second focuses on Burke's unstoppable R&B talents and distinctive country soul bent, begging the question of why this intensely likeable and adaptable singer couldn't sustain a successful music career through the '70s and '80s. Particularly endearing is "I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to Be Free" with its late-'60s emphasis on equality, peace, and understanding. "Party People" conjures the ghost of Sam Cooke, while "I Feel a Sin Coming On," apart from having a great title, is quintessential country soul, ushering in a group of songs underlining Burke's church-oriented side such as Joe Tex's "Meet Me in Church" and Eddie Floyd's "Someone is Watching." For fans of 1960s R&B who prefer a little country and a little church in their Memphis soul stew, HOME IN YOUR HEART is a sure-fire winner.

On this 1997 album, legendary soul giant has his son Selassie alongside him in the producer's chair, and it finds him putting a '90s spin on his classic sound. It's another classic you can add to the Solomon Burke canon.

For pure soul testifying, no one compares to Solomon Burke. He earned his title -- "King of Soul" -- by bringing the gospel fervor of the Southern preacher ...    Full Descriptionto his performances, and no recording proves his command over an audience quite like Soul Alive! Recorded in 1983 in Washington, D.C., the set proves Burke had lost little from his '60s heyday; he works through nearly all of his hits, spurring on the concert-goers as though they were the ones performing instead of him -- in fact, some of the women are heard screaming so often they should've been credited. Burke shines most when leading the faithful through "I Can't Stop Loving You," pausing for a lengthy monologue before reprising the song and leading into a devastating finish. Elsewhere he works through deeply felt country-blues-gospel fusions like "I Almost Lost My Mind," "Take Me (Just as I Am)," "He'll Have to Go," and "Down in the Valley." ~ John Bush

Recorded live in Washington, D.C. in 1981. Includes liner notes by Peter Guralnick.

Are you ready for the King of Soul and Rock & Roll? Solomon Burke (for it is he) is discovered here in fine voice at the New Orleans House Of Blues with full orchestral accompaniment. The set commences with Burke's own "Every Needs Somebody to Love," taken at '60s soul revue speed (i.e., faster than a man of Burke's mature years and 375-pound size should safely be expected to perform). However, Burke soon eases into the slower tempos of a medley of "If You Need Me," "Tonight's the Night" (no, not the Rod Stewart song), and Ivory Joe Hunter's "I Almost Lost My Mind."

Burke is the flip side of the excitable Soul Brother Number One, James Brown--his exhortations to the band are usually to "take it easy...we just gon' do this all night long," and it sounds like they did. The Souls Alive Orchestra is in superlative form, featuring relaxed and swinging rhythm and horn sections. Burke is, as always, a consummate entertainer; the audience interaction preceding "Got to Get You off My Mind" is almost worth the price of admission by itself.

The classic blues album fully remastered!

Before the "comeback" of the GRAMMY-winning Don’t Give Up On Me; before he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; before his return to traditional ’60s-style R&B on 2005’s Make Do With What You Got, Solomon Burke had the blues. He’s primarily known as a soul singer, but this collection of blues classics proves what many have known for a long time: Solomon Burke is one the most powerful and persuasive singers of any kind anywhere.