Category Archives: Reviews

Reviews

Solomon Burke – Very Best of (CD review)

Solomon Burke – The Very Best Of (Rhino) – CD review –

His best songs will make you shout, just like you were in a gospel meeting.

Solomon Burke never enjoyed the chart success that some of his contemporaries, like Sam Cooke & Wilson Pickett had.  But, that doesn’t mean he didn’t make incredible music.  On the contrary, the songs collected on this disc are so full of passion and grit, they make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

This budget-priced collection does a pretty good job of collecting his seminal sides for Atlantic Records during the sixties.  For money you could find in your couch, you get his early blend of country with R&B “Just Out of Reach,” plus the should of been smashes “Cry to Me” and “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” (both covered by the Rolling Stones).  Another standout is “Gotta Get You Off My Mind,” written the night his friend, Sam Cooke, was murdered.  “Can’t Nobody Love You” is Burke at his pleading best.  As a bonus, the set contains “Soul Meeting,” a collaboration between Burke, Ben E. King, Joe Tex, Don Covay, & Arthur Conley.  A great set by an underrated legend. –Tony Peters

Reviews

Solomon Burke – Nothing’s Impossible (CD review)


Solomon Burke – Nothing’s Impossible (E1 Entertainment) – CD review

This record finds Solomon Burke teamed with legendary Memphis producer Willie Mitchell, whose signature staccato horns, loud kick drum, and sweet strings adorned the great Al Green singles of the early 70’s.  Flash forward forty years, and everything is still intact.  No attempt has been made to update the sound; this is classic soul, through and through

They just don’t make albums like this anymore.  Real drums, real instruments, and Burke still growling away, like he has for the last 50 years.  But, there’s something here, not present in his previous releases: an underlying hint of regret in his voice.  Whether Burke is feeling his mortality or had somehow foreseen the tragedy that would fall his producer (Mitchell passed away just ten days after completing these sessions of cardiac arrest), the truth is, it’s there.  It’s also what elevates these tracks to another level.  Take for example the odd cover of Anne Murray’s “You Needed Me.”  Her original is schmaltzy and vanilla, while Burke imparts so much emotion, cutting to the true essence of the song.

One of the best songs is “Dreams” where Burke sings “don’t wake me from this dream / or I’ll scream scream scream”.  These are lyrics that will send chills down your spine.  Even Burke’s daughter, Candy, wrote one of the better ones, “The Error of My Ways.” Burke won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album for 2002’s Don’t Give Up On Me, With this new disc, Burke should find himself once again accepting award for a great collection of songs. — Tony Peters

Hear the Icon Fetch interview with Solomon Burke

Reviews

Darlene Love – The Best of (CD review)

You may not know her name, but you certainly know her voice.

Darlene Love – the Best of – CD review – While it would be impossible to compile all of Darlene Love’s finest accomplishments on one collection, The Best of Darlene Love does a fairly good job of bringing together the highlights of her tenure with Phil Spector, her most fruitful commercially.  The CD opens with “He’s a Rebel,” credited to the Crystals, but is in fact Darlene on lead vocals.

The song rocketed to #1 in the fall of 1962 and helped solidify Phil Spector’s status as a “rock genius.”  Perhaps because of this notoriety, Spector became increasingly erratic in his dealings with his artists.  This explains the schizophrenic credits on this CD: Spector would promise Darlene that the next single would be in her name, only to release it as by the Crystals.  Next, she’d be credited as Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, for which they cut the odd Disney classic “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.”  Still other tracks were inexplicably left unreleased, as in Darlene’s original version of “Chapel of Love,” later a monster hit for the Dixie Cups. “A Fine Fine Boy” and “(Today I Met) the Boy I’m Gonna Marry” are both fine examples of her strong clear voice: it’s as if she’s back in the choir singing gospel.  The set closes with an added tidbit: “Lord If You’re a Woman,”  a failed attempt at a comeback for Spector and Love from 1977.

Reviews

Tommy James – 40 years – Complete Singles Collection (CD review)

Disc one packs such a wallop, did one guy do all these songs?

Tommy James – 40 Years – The Complete Singles Collection (Collectors Choice) – CD review – This two-disc set marks the first time that Tommy James’ entire career has been summarized in one collection.  “40 Years: The Complete Singles Collection” opens with his very first hit, “Hanky Panky” from 1966 and ends with a string of Adult Contemporary hits from 40 years later.

Disc one focuses on Tommy’s hit-making years and the string of shining moments is an impressive one: “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Mony Mony,” “Crimson & Clover,”  “Mirage,”  “Sweet Cherry Wine,”  and “Crystal Blue Persuasion” are all timeless classics.  One thing that sets this anthology a part from other collections is that, for the first time, the original, mono single versions were used.  These were the mixes that were played on AM radio at the time and the ones that the kids of the Sixties bought up on record.  Even though disc two chronicles Tommy’s decent into cult artist, the quality of the material remains surprisingly strong.  — Tony Peters

Hear the Icon Fetch interview with Tommy James