Make Do With What You Got

Solomon Burke | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 1, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Shout Factory
• ASIN: B0007ACS5I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,710 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

A classic soul album from the GRAMMY-winning legend! Produced by Don Was and featuring brand-new songs by Van Morrison and Dr. John

One of the most powerful and original voices in the history of soul music, Solomon Burke continues his career renaissance with Make Do With What You Got. Produced by celebrated studio auteur Don Was (The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt), and featuring veteran soul musicians such as Ray Parker Jr. and Reggie Young, Make Do With What You Got is a return to Burke’s soul roots after the Grammy-winning 2002 album Don’t Give Up On Me. Like its predecessor, the album contains songs by some of rock’s finest songwriters: Bob Dylan, Jagger/Richards, Van Morrison, Robbie Robertson, Dr. John, and others. Also included is a personal introduction by Van Morrison.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Damn! Welcome Back, Solomon!, November 5, 2005

By 

Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Make Do With What You Got (Audio CD)

It's crazy that Solomon Burke has been absent from the music scene for as long as he has. Or more accurately, it's a crime that we have been ignoring him for all these years. Burke is a soul singer of the same stature as Percy Sledge (another criminally neglected artist who is still releasing new material), or Wilson Pickett, but our collective indifference/negligence for the past three decades has rendered him obsolete, at least in a commercial sense. 2002's "Don't Give Up On Me" was an aptly titled `comeback' album of Burke's that served notice, reminding us that after all these years, Solomon Burke still possesses a powerhouse of a voice, not to mention excellent taste. "Make Do With What You Got" is further evidence that Burke is back, and he is here for the long haul.
Burke is a soul singer in the truest sense of the word, but he also an artist willing to take risks and stretch himself toward new territories. "I Need Your Love in My Life" opens the album, and it is uncanny how much it rocks like a long-lost Big Star track, only with Burke's authoritative presence replacing Alex Chilton's keening tenor. A few familiar tunes appear here, but all are reformulated into something surprising and original. Bob Dylan's "What Good Am I?" (from Dylan's excellent "Oh Mercy" album) is especially surprising, wrapped in a funky shuffle that manages to suggest Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff", while adding a lighter shade to one of Dylan's more pensive compositions. Rick Danko's (another keening tenor) interpretation of Robbie Robertson's "It Makes No Difference" will always remain definitive, but Burke's powerful interpretation brings the song into a new light, bringing gospel overtones that Danko never could have suggested. Gospel music informs virtually everything on this record, but you can virtually feel the church surround you on tracks like "Fading Footsteps", "At the Crossroads" and "Wealth Won't Save Your Soul". Even The Jagger-Richards composition "I Got the Blues" sounds like it is emanating from a Memphis church.
Back in the `60s, Solomon Burke was the lifeblood for artists like the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and the Band, providing inspiration and sometimes material for their careers. Forty years later, times have changed quite a bit, and the situation has reversed. I am convinced that there is still an audience for intelligent, heartfelt and compassionate soul music, especially when such great material is entrusted to a super-talented legend like Solomon Burke. Commercial radio programmers might not know it, but I do, and I hope you will take time to discover this for yourself as well. A- Tom Ryan

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No, no you won't regret it, March 7, 2005

By 

M. K. LEVINE "lefty18" (Monroe, New York USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Make Do With What You Got (Audio CD)

The real deal from an old master. These songs could've been twirling around an old record player in a railroad flat. Solomon Burke delivers an album sparer and stronger than his politely respectable comeback album. Here he's 65 years old and pining to the moon. How about the soulful ode to an old life-weary love? This is more than survival. The beseeching organ makes it lonesome and longing like human beings get.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic & A Triumph, March 23, 2005

By 

Uncle Henry (Wichita, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Make Do With What You Got (Audio CD)

I agree with Billboard magazine's assessment - this CD is "a soul classic". The songs are smart & possess quite a kick, and Solomon throws himself into each one - as if he knew how to sing a song any other way. What's especially gratifying is that this is the type of album that gets made so rarely these days. First, it's old-school soul music - 'comfort music' of the first order if you were born anytime from 1950 to 1960. Think Stax, Hi Records, Muscle Shoals - you get the picture. Slippery Hammond B3 organ, snakey rhythmn guitar, tight bursts from the horn section, slammin' drums, all hanging on Rev. Burke's every sung word. Second, it would seem that it was recorded pretty 'live' in the studio, although the performances are all spot-on. In other words, this is a guy who can get it right the first time - he knows what he's doing from note-one to note-last (as he proved on recent appearances on Letterman and Conan). The producer, players, and songwriters are all A-team, but all in the service of bringing the best qualities of the star to the forefront. Dylan, Robbie Robertson, and Dr. John are not only great songwriters, but "What Good Am I?", "It Makes No Difference" and "Make Do With What You Got" are among the best songs they ever wrote. Plus it's a kick to hear him lay into the Stones' "I Got The Blues". Long story short, this is an extraordinary album of great songs, great arrangements, and stirring performances. Buy one for yourself, and another for someone you know who needs a lift. A increasingly-rare slice of funk, fun, and feeling.