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