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Solomon Burke
After all these years, it would hardly be unexpected for anyone to have given up on Burke. It’s been almost four decades since his name was making steady appearances on the music charts, so this CD marks a very welcome comeback for one of the finest voices in soul music. This CD is noteworthy for the number of contributors who supply material for Burke, but it is even more noteworthy to discover that, after all these years, the man is still in full voice. The power of his early hits is intact, and so is the painful cry that lurks beneath everything he utters.
The liner notes for this CD are so full of unrestrained praise that you might come away thinking that Solomon Burke single-handedly cured cancer and enacted a lasting world peace. His qualifications for greatness aren’t quite so grandiose, but they are great nonetheless. For a half-century, Burke has labored as a singer, but as is typical for the majority of gospel-inflected soul singers, public interest has waned in that particular style. As sales slacked off, Burke had difficulty finding appropriate material, or a sympathetic producer, but he kept right on singing anyway.
Don’t Give Up On Me provides fans with a reason to rejoice. It consists of classic mid-sixties-style soul, with a heavy gospel influence, due mostly to the ubiquitous presence of Burke’s church organist Rudy Copeland. Producer Joe Henry seems to have allowed the sessions to play themselves, which aids the loose atmosphere, giving it the authentic air that Burke deserves. My only criticism is that he didn’t reign in Copeland, whose dramatic stylization occasionally borders on showboating.
The album contains material from an all-star list of songwriters, with the best coming from Dan Penn ("Don’t Give Up On Me"), Van Morrison (2 times with "Fast Train" and "Only a Dream," - both of which appear on his own album, Down the Road), Bob Dylan ("Stepchild" which sounds like classic contemporary Dylan) and the legends Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Brenda Russell (the moving "None of Us Are Free"). Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan supply the pleasantly weird "Diamonds In Your Mind", but nobody forces Burke out of his box as much as Elvis Costello, with his melodramatic tune, "The Judgement." I’m sure Costello figured his song to be a modified blues, but Burke reads it as if it’s a piece of European theater.
To appreciate this album, you’ve got to relax and let Burke slowly work his magic. His power is overwhelming, with a stately, majestic presence that defines every song here. If you close your eyes and let your mind drift, you’ll recognize that Burke is testifying as though it’s still 1966, and Otis Redding is still holding his backyard picnics. Those were great days for music, and Solomon Burke is the perfect soul to keep them alive. Jerry Wexler once stated that Burke was the best singer he knew, period. Everybody has his or her own favorites, and although I stand by my own unabiding love for classic Al Green, it is truly wonderful to hear Burke as he enters an artistic renaissance.
Grade: 
 
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