Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Very Best of Solomon Burke (1998)


Southern soul music from a singer from the Northeast. Solomon Burke (1940-2010) was a powerful singer with the nickname "The King of Rock 'n' Soul." Legendary Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler once referred to Burke as "the greatest male soul singer of all time." Burke just never had that one timeless hit single to place himself among names like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke. That's a real shame; it seems his only fault was picking less-than-stellar material (although I love what he does with any country song).  This is an excellent 16 track collection that features his work from 1961-1968. I wish there was an app that could make CDs sound like they were being played on an AM radio because that would be the perfect way to listen to this.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:  It's all good, every bit of it, all 16 tracks. He had an affinity for mid-tempo ballads in which his voice could let loose with feeling (e.g., I'm Hanging Up My Heart For You and Goodbye Baby). My top picks are Cry To Me (just ignore the background vocals), Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, and his biggest hit, Got To Get You Off My Mind. Track 16 is a true diamond among the R&B treasures here: the June 1968 single Soul Meeting cut by the Soul Clan, which consisted of Burke, Arthur Conley, Don Covay, Ben E. King, and Joe Tex, the super-session product of a short-lived experiment in raising money for the black community.

SongYearHot 100R&B
Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)1961247
Cry To Me 1962445
Down In The Valley 19627120
I'm Hanging Up My Heart For You 19628515
If You Need Me 1963372
Can't Nobody Love You 196366
You're Good For Me 1963498
Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) 1964338
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love 1964584
The Price 19645710
Got To Get You Off My Mind 1965221
Tonight's The Night 1965282
Someone Is Watching 19658924
Take Me (Just As I Am) 19674911
I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)
1968
6832
Soul Meeting 19681691


Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  I've learned not to pass up a Rhino compilation if I see one in a used bin. Got To Get You Off My Mind reminds me of Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity (which I recently read for the third time).

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