Customer Reviews
don't give up on R and B !! - By: phil mars, 17 Nov 2008 
This is a better album than Nashville, or maybe that's mainly because I am currently playing this one all the time, especially the title track, which, although sung with restraint, conveys all the emotional intensity you could want - this shows off Soloman's voice 'par excellence'. The other track I particularly like is 'stepchild', again, very restrained.
The other thing is , if you ever get the chance to listen to Soloman Burke's version of 'gotta get some more money',( if I find out what album it's on I'll flag it up - watch this space ) don't hesitate - it's amazing, & being that bit younger he is able to showcase his vocal power ( although to be honest it hasn't suffered too much from him being nowin his 60's on the album being reviewed ).
****1/2 - an amazing comeback record from Solomon Burke - By: Docendo Discimus, 02 Jul 2005 
Nicknamed "The Deacon" & "The King of Rock & Soul", Solomon Burke was one of the important early soul pioneers of the 60s before vanishing from the charts. He still played hundreds of concerts, though, his strengths largely intact, &in February 2002 he stepped into the studio to record this fascinating album.
"Don't Give Up On Me" features original songwriting contributions from several very well-known artists including Van Morrison (two songs) Bob Dylan, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, Tom Waits, & producer Joe Henry himself. It's not really soul, or R&B, rather it's a hybrid of sorts, blending folk, blues, soul, R&B, rock n' roll & a touch of gospel. Burke delivers everything with panache & a voice full of soul, though, & every one of these performances are filled with power & intensity.
"Don't Give Up On Me" is remarkable for its sparse sound & low-key production, no big bands or string orchestras, just bass, percussion, a guitar, an organ & the occational piano. It is reminicent of Johnny Cash's "American Recordings"in that respect, & there are some terrific songs here. The title track is the best, a gritty, dramatic deep soul tune with a huge hook & a lot of passion, but there are plenty of other highlights. It's actually a bit funny how much the slow swagger Tom Waits' & Kathleen Brennan's "Diamond In Your Mind" sounds like a Tom Waits song, even though it's Burke singing it, & "Stepchild" sounds almost as much like the Bob Dylan song that it is.
Brian Wilson's "Soul Searchin'" is another highlight, as is Van Morrison's swampy "Fast Train", & Nick Lowe's slow "The Other Side Of The Coin", another genuine soul number.
If I am to complain a little bit I'll say that the relatively unvaried tempo & similar arrangements wear a little bit thin towards the end; a couple of up-tempo songs would have been nice. But there is an awful lot of amazing performances here, & you can only wish that Burke would have stayed with this lean, muscular sound on his next album.
Good - except... - By: Jeremy Warmsley, 12 Nov 2002 I'm coming at this record from a different angle to most people - I've never heard anything by Solomon Burke before, or listened to much soul music. But I'm a big fan of Tom Waits & Bob Dylan etc., so I thought I'd check it out.
And it's great. Really good. The songs are by & large top-notch, except for Van Morrison's contributions, which is a shame. Also, I found the much-vaunted organ contributions of organist Rudy Copeland annoying.
But that's the bad. The good? Fantastic voice, gorgeous, lush sound (it's a definite headphones record), & definitely worthwhile.
Get the throne ready - By: thestaxman, 28 Aug 2002 The "King of Rock & Soul" ascends his thronein all his glory with this tremendously refreshing comeback album. It's refreshingin every sense of the word. It's sound is refreshing & intimate. It's refreshing that a soul album on a soul artist, legendary or not, (Butin particular a legendary one) is just that, soulful. Recorded livein the studio with a great cast of musicians, this album should bring deserved attention to the small Fat Possum record labelin Oxford, MS. The songs on this album were all proudly contributed to Burke by some of the most respected peoplein the business. Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, & Brian Wilson are just the most famous of the lot. Morrison's songs are two of the better ones on the album, particularly "Fast Train". Both have Morrison written all over them, &in fact, he's using them on his upcoming outing. Like Morrison, Waits's, Wilson's, & Costello's songs are also instantly recognizable as theirs. Bob Dylan submits what is probably the most generic song on the album. Another highlight is the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil/Brenda Russell written "None Of Us Are Free". The two aforementioned titles, as well as the rest of the album, are graced by a superlative organ playerin Rudy Copeland. Copeland, who is blind, is the organist at the church where Burke pastors. The title cut is written by songwriting cohorts Dan Penn & Carson Whitsett, along with Hoy Lindsey. Penn wanted to write an Otis Redding type ballad & had wanted to use the title "Don't Give Up On Me". Whitsett sat down & started laying down Otis like chord changes & the result,in my opinion, is a song that sounds like a classic '60s country soul hit. Copeland's playful interplay with Burke is uniquely splendid. To say Burke sounds great would be an understatement. His voice is smooth & strong. The Joe Henry produced ensemble deliver a package that should be titled "Don't Give Up On Music."
The Real Deal - By: , 22 Aug 2002 Somewherein your music collection you most likely have a Soul compilation. In all probability you will find a song on it called 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love' by Solomon Burke. Well surprise, unlike most of the people on that compilation Solomon Burke is not dead & he is still a working Soul Man, & while some may feel that there isn't a crowd pleaser like 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love' on the CD(although 'None of Us Are Free' comes pretty close), the album is filled with great songs by some of the best songwriters of the past century, which showcase a singer who not only has an incredible range, but is as equally at home doing a song by Tom Waits as he is one by Brian Wilson. We livein a time when the word 'great' is overused to the point of meaninglessness & unfortunately this applies particularly to what is written & said about music, but Solomon Burke is unqualifiedly a 'great singer' & this is an excellent album that deserves to outsell anything that has beenin the charts for quite some time. If you've ever listened to that Soul compilation of yours & thought: "They don't make music like this anymore," then you need to get this album because 'they' just did. This is not to say that this is an exercisein nostalgia because it is not. This is a sophisticated album that shows that Burke has matured & developed with the course of time, despite being out of the gaze of the mainstream music media & record buying public for so long. This is not a modern record because of it's production (it was recorded livein a studioin four days), but because of the richness & variety of the material Burke makes his own. The songs are bound together by the soul of a man who knows how to give everything to a song, & does. This is the real deal.
