Customer Reviews

Nashville

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Every once and a while an album appears that takes you of guard. Nashville is one of those records. Solomon Burke started his comeback a few years back with "Don't Give Up on Me". It was a commercial and artistic success. The low key production of the songs suited the Bishop of Soul's somewhat ragged voice surprisingly well. Sadly the album was followed up by a lackluster Don Was production. In an attempt to create a classic Soul album Was completely drowned Solomon's voice. A mistake pleasantly corrected on this new release.

Nashville is a genuine Country album. Burke of course is no stranger to the medium. He started his career with the Country tinted "Just Out of Reach". Later on in his career his Southern Soul always seemed to have a slight Country shade. Burke often worked with the legendary Muscle Shoals studios, whose band basically consisted of Country musicians taking their punch at Soul music. Yet Nashville is the first real Country album Burke ever did. Horn sections are replaced with fiddles, string instruments play a dominant role and Burke gets into some close harmony with the queens of Country, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton.

The album opens with "That's How I got to Memphis", producer Buddy Miller accompanying Solomon on just guitar. The tone for the album is set. Although the record at times goes for a Hill Billy blow out with full band, most of the material here is sparsely produced and the focus is on ballads. Though Solomon's voice is still a power house, it has diminished in strength over the years. Burke has problems in times to remain in key and his voices gained a gritty edge. The acoustic instrumentation of the record allows him to relax his voice and let the material come to live. From start to finish the record is a feast of music, signing and story telling. Notably are a very strong version of Springsteen's "Ain't Got You", the wry "Where Did the Money Go", the moving "Vicious Circle" and the breath taking "We're Gonna Hold On" backed by Emmylou Harris. This record is a keeper, a high point in Burke's rich career and one to help you through many falls to come.

I am another long-time fan of Burke's, and am rapturous over his revitalized career. 'Nashville' picks up where the brilliant 'Don't Give Up On Me' left off, with Burke again wrapping his warm, rich pipes around songs worthy of them.

For you newcomers, 'Nashville' is no bandwagon-jumper. Burke is a sixties soul man with a jones for country and western that pre-dates Ray Charles' 1962 classic LP 'Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music'. It's no accident that Burke's first hit "Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)" was a C&W-laced ballad.

On the surface, country and western and soul seem like distant relatives, one played and listened-to mostly by whites, the other mostly by blacks. Their instrumentation, tempos, harmonies and presentation are frequently very different.

But both have their roots in native music: C&W stems largely from the hymms and folk songs of Irish and English immigrants, while soul traces its heritage back through gospel, blues and field hollers, which themselves are descended from the tribal music of Africa.

They are also the music of the rural poor and the disenfranchised, who used their music as an aural diary. Their worries and concerns were universal, and crossed all racial lines. It's easy to see how a southern-born black man working in a tire plant in Akron, Ohio could relate to a song like Bobby Bare's "Detroit City". Or how a white woman in Appalachia could possess an innate understanding of LaVern Baker's "Tomorrow Night". Despite the obvious differences, there is a great deal of commonality here.

But I digress.

Solomon Burke is one of the fortunate few whose voice actually seems enriched by age, not diminished by it. And that added texture is put to good use on 'Nashville'. Experience oozes from this CD, and make it as resonant as the last great movie you saw.

Be it the inflamed exchange between soon-to-be-lovers on "You're the Kind of Trouble", the ache in "Valley of Tears", or the resolute conviction of "Tomorrow Is Forever" or "We're Gonna Hold On", Burke nails every song that crosses his path.

If you're already a fan of Burke's, this will delight you. And if you're not, this will make you one. I'm not a huge fan of country music, aside from the occasional Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson or Rodney Crowell album. But filtered through Burke's unique sensibility, well, this CD is going straight to my year's-end top ten.

Like dark chocolate wrapped around a square of jalapeno jelly, what at first seems incongruous turns out to be a perfect match. And it's just a click of the 'Add to Shopping Cart' button away.

Solomon Burke singing country is the best thing to happen to Nashville. Take an artist who is always exactly who he is, bring in the finest producer (Buddy Miller), the finest musicians and writers and the finest duet pairings (Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin and Patty Loveless) to surround him and 14 songs later, you have yourself your favorite cd - like an old friend. It isn't Solomon Burke "playing cowboy." It is Solomon Burke being Solomon Burke and offering a point of view that fervently honors country music.

The combination of country music and Solomon's spontenaity are genius, and the interpretations make it seem that Solomon knows exactly how you feel, and he is singing straight to your (country) soul.

Buy it, treasure it, and spread the news: THE BISHOP IS IN NASHVILLE!

A few years before this release, Solomon Burke burst out with "Don't Give Up on Me," his best collection of songs in thirty years. The title was an indicator of just how far into the background Burke had faded, and also a righteous plea for attention from an audience who had forgotten him, if they even knew him in the first place. That collection was an incredible wake-up call to fans of real soul music, and it still stands as an awesome testament to Burke's talent, but a few people attributed its success to the multitude of famous guests who assisted Burke with his `comeback'. "Make Do With What You Got," his next release, silenced most of them, since it focused on Burke's own relentless energy and personality, while downplaying the role of his assistants. "Nashville" is the third album in what his record company refers to as a "21st Century trilogy of classic music," and all I can say is, "Please don't stop!"
If judged for consistency, shelf life and genuinely deep songcraft, "Nashville" may be the best of the bunch. Burke sings like a man thirty years younger than his age, and his choice of material is stellar. The song selection is based on Burke's lifelong love of country music, hence the title. What should no longer be surprising is how he extracts so much emotional power from each song, and yet I am blown away each time I play this disk. "That's How I Got to Memphis" is a literate, sad tune written by Tom T. Hall that never sounded better than it does here. "Atta Way to Go" sends a shiver down my spine, while "Honey, Where's the Money Gone" always triggers a rueful smile. Springsteen can kiss his ownership of "Ain't Got You" goodbye, too - Burke's performance is definitive, and tons of fun besides. Producer Buddy Miller does a fabulous job of keeping things low-key, which lends a natural flair to each performance that only enhances Burke's intrinsic abilities. A few exceptionally talented women lend their voice and songwriting talents here as well; Dolly Parton, Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris and Patty Loveless each duet with Burke (the first three on songs of their own) and they do so with grace, but the spotlight never falters. This is a CD that I could live with for a very long time. Now, my only question is why the record company keeps referring to these albums as a trilogy? For the sake of Solomon Burke, and for my own sake as well, please keep `em coming! A Tom Ryan

With a voice as great as this you could sing the Scottish third division results and make them sound magical, so it's hard to lose with soul veteran Solomon Burke (now in his mid 60s) whatever the premise. Thankfully, on this country based album, rather than go for a glossy high production job, Buddy Miller was recruited to keep it comfortably raw and loose.
The record was recorded in Miller's home studio in Nashville. Inevitably there is a selection of guests.
Dolly Parton duets on her own "Tomorrow Is Forever", which is passable, but sounds like it would have worked better without her.
Gillian Welch similarly crops up on the otherwise unreleased gospel tinged "Valley Of Tears", but Gillian's backing vocals are sensibly low key, the bulk of the singing is left to the maestro, perfectly complimented by David Rawlings great guitar playing, as a result this works much better than the Dolly Parton "duet".
Patty Griffin's "Up The Mountain" is also previously unreleased, and is a perfect fit for the fractured and worn emotions that Solomon's vocal brings, and Patty Griffin too adds a tastefully effective yet restrained backing.
The country blues of "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger" written by Buddy and Julie Miller, is one of the best tracks, the moodiness of the backing perfectly fits the "woman-done-me-wrong" lyrics, when Solomon sings "I could never believe your kisses were lyin'" his pain is right out there. Emmylou Harris also shows up on a relatively uninspired run through George Jones's "We're Gonna Hold On", and Patty Loveless arguably wins the battle of the duets with the uptempo "You're The Kind Of Trouble". One of the more surprising choices to cover is Springsteen's "Aint Got You", but driven along by some fine fiddle playing and with another great vocal delivery, Solomon steals it as his own, I bet the Boss himself loves this.
This is a really good record, Buddy Miller has done a fine job keeping the production real, and the backing nicely understated, but it might have been better without the star duets that always seem to crop up on these albums.
Solomon Burke has a truly great voice, so lets hear it!

Solomon Burke has always had things to teach. The soul he brought to "If you Need Me" 45 years ago, and "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" had a profound impact on the Rolling Stones' early work. He could tease the listener a bit, and preach the truth on a sober Sunday morning. The struggle through those early recordings came from being hamstrung by the limited backup arrangements.

Those days are gone. Solomon's voice soars over the acoustic charts used for "That's How I Got To Memphis" and "Valley Of Tears", and punches straight to the heart asking, "Honey Where's The Money Gone". He brings a seasoned reflection to Springsteen's "Ain't Got You" that steps across the decades since the Basie band had Joe Williams shouting to throw him "Smack Dab In The Middle". Each track here engages the vocalist with smart country instrumentalists and vivid duets. It's a triumph all around.

Jagger and Richards (and Brian Jones) brought pointed, fresh guitar arrangements to their early albums, taking Solomon Burke's truth and transforming the genre. With "Nashville" we find lots more to learn from a master.

Solomon Burke has been a superb performer for more than 40 years in the Soul genre.
In this outing, he takes a page from Ray Charles' splendid forays into
country and pulls it off beautifully.
These are all wonderful tunes albeit mostly unknown 'til now.
"That's How I Got To Memphis" causes a catch in my throat.
There are wonderful vocal duets with Emmy Lou Harris, Dolly Parton and others and the band seems at one with Burke.

I take issue only with the title of Solomon Burke's latest recording. In the company of Buddy Miller, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and other esteemed Nashville artists, it sounds appropriate to title Burke's release "Nashville." However, a better title might be "From Memphis to Nashville," since Burke finds a sublime tone on this recording that mixes the soulfulness of the best of Memphis blues with the plaintiveness of traditional Nashville country. Whatever you call it, though, Burke is in excellent form on this CD and he works very well with artists as diverse as Welch and Parton. Great credit goes to all involved, especially to Burke and Buddy Miller. They know how to make the Memphis and Nashville sounds bring out the best in each other.

Love this entire CD. One of my new favorites from start to finish. Fabulous musicians, unbelievable singing. Cannot say enough about this album!

Wow, wow and more wow. I am blown away by the depth of mood and soulfullness in this album. Solomon Burke is certainly one of our American treasures. Buy this album for your children and buy it for your parents, oh and buy one for yourself too!!!