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.

Song	Year	Hot 100	R&B
Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)	1961	24	7
Cry To Me	1962	44	5
Down In The Valley	1962	71	20
I'm Hanging Up My Heart For You	1962	85	15
If You Need Me	1963	37	2
Can't Nobody Love You	1963	66
You're Good For Me	1963	49	8
Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)	1964	33	8
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love	1964	58	4
The Price	1964	57	10
Got To Get You Off My Mind	1965	22	1
Tonight's The Night	1965	28	2
Someone Is Watching	1965	89	24
Take Me (Just As I Am)	1967	49	11
I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)	1968	68	32
Soul Meeting	1968	16	91

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).