He built his reputation as a soul singer. Scratch that, he built his reputation as one of the _creators_ of soul music. But this CD cements his mastery of blues and country crossovers. His voice is a bit crackly with age but it’s strong, confident and inspiring. Producer Buddy Miller has done a great job arranging the musicians around Burke’s voice. The country songs sound country without being smarmy. The blues songs sound like Memphis blues through and through.
The CD opens with a cover of Tom T. Hall’s “That’s How I Got To Memphis” which opens the CD. It’s just the vocals of Burke and Buddy Miller’s acoustic guitar. Nothing else and nothing else is needed. By the end of the song you’re completely captivated by Burke’s voice and you feel oh so sorry for him.
While Burke can sing those slow sad soul songs like no one else, my favorites on this CD are the high energy tunes. Jim Lauderdale’s “Seems Like You’re Gonna Take Me Back” is a upbeat foot tapping driver with a huge band sound and excellent soul back up singers. It’ll put a smile on your face. But the stand out track is “Ain’t Got You” that sounds like an old time tent revival song, but in actuality it’s a Springsteen song of all things.
Several notable guest artists including Dolly Parton on “Tomorrow Is Forever,” Gillian Welch on “Valley of Tears,” and Nancy Griffith on her “Up On The Mountain”.
Not a bad track on the CD. Solomon Burke proves he’s still got what it takes to dig into your soul and pull.
