Product Description

Solomon Burke, the King of Rock'n'Soul, completes his 21st century trilogy with Nashville, a collection of country songs produced by Buddy Miller and recorded at his Nashville home. Solomon returns to one of his first loves, country music, after the GRAMMY® Award-winning Don't Give Up On Me and the GRAMMY®-nominated Make Do With What You Got. (His breakthrough 60s singles on Atlantic Records were in a country vein.)

Nashville contains Solomon's soulful versions of classic country and country-tinged songs (by Tom T Hall, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Don Williams and others) and previously unrecorded soon-to-be standards by Patty Griffin and Gillian Welch, who also contribute vocals. Country divas Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Patty Loveless also make guest vocal appearances. It all adds up to one of the most affecting marriages of country and soul ever recorded.

Track Listing

1. That's How I Got To Memphis
2. Seems Like You're Gonna Take Me Be
3. Tomorrow Is Forever
4. Ain't Got You
5. Valley Of Tears
6. Honey Where's That Money Gone
7. Atta Way To Go
8. Millionaire
9. Up The Mountain
10. Does My Ring Burn Your Finger
11. Vicious Circle
12. We're Gonna Hold You
13. You're The Kind Of Trouble
14. 'Til I Get It Right

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7445 in Music
• Released on: 2006-10-02
• Number of discs: 1

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Customer Reviews

Solomon's Country Heart
As a previous reviewer already pointed out, at least in terms of artistic depth if not style, Nashville is a worthy successor to the wonderful "Don't Give Up On Me."

Although--if you read recent interviews--his love for Country is well known and nurtured over many years, it is stunning to see how such an accomplished Soul and R&B artist can be so at home with these Country & Western ballads and Honky-Tonk rousers.

Particularly in songs like his duets with Parton and Patty Griffin--both quite gorgeous--or That's How I Got To Memphis, Valley of Tears with Gillian Welch, Atta Way To Go and 'Til I Get It Right--this album's equivalent to "The Other Side Of The Coin"--Burke pours his heart and elevates these songs to the level of hymns. Yet, this is a different kind of Gospel, the gospel a man sings about the troubles of men and women trying to love each other or just making it through another day.

Lastly, in addition to the talented women offering their voices in these tracks--count Emmylou and Patty Loveless too--there's another gentleman to be thanked for this beauty of an album. Producer Buddy Miller's spins the poetry of his arrangements, realizing a sound that's just right for the intimate feel of these songs.

Brother Solomon is back, finally recording the Country album he has wished to make for so many years, proving that a great voice and a huge heart can cross any musical boundaries, making the long wait ever so worthwhile.

A true departure.
Solomon Burke's venture into country music, Nashville, is a true departure. We all know how the singer was interested in Gene Autry and Roy Rogers from an early age. Still, "Just out of Reach", was a country song adapted to the soul idiom.
On this album however, Burke surrounds himself with country musicians and immerses himself fully in the country idiom, and it works!
Then there is the intimacy of the affair. The album was recorded in Buddy Miller's home and wouldn't I have loved to have been a fly on the wall during those sessions.
"That's How I Got To Memphis", the first track, is just Solomon's voice with guitar and bass. Burke's voice and phrasing here is commandeering and conspiratorial at the same time.
"Seems Like You're Gonna Take Me Back" and the Springsteen written "Ain't Got You" are treated as jolly hoedowns. At the end of the latter song Burke is heard wondering whether his fellow musicians "have got religion. Hilarity ensues.
Of the duets, the one with Dolly Parton works least but "Valley of Tears" with Gilian Welch is a gem. At the end Burke just cannot bring himself to part with his listeners, repeating the main phrase over and over again until he finally just whispers it to himself. As I said : Intimacy!
The phrasing in "Honey Where's The Money Gone" hints at disappointment and resignation. It's a sad story but as the accompaniment gently swings along you can't help smiling. "Atta Way To Go", which follows it, is another song of lost love, but what a contrast! Here, bitterness if not anger set the scene.
Amongst the other tracks two more duets stand out. "You're The Kind Of Trouble" featuring Patty Loveless is joyful and even suggestive at times. Which brings me to my favourite track, "We're Gonna Hold On", a duet with Emmy Lou Harris. Burke and Harris sing along as if they have known one another all their lives. Comfortable like your favourite pair of jeans, fullblooded and warm like a second glass of wine from the best bottle of red wine you ever tasted. Those comparisons were originally just meant for the Burke Harris duet. They apply even more to this album as a whole and to Solomon Burke as a singer.
Listen to Nashville and let the big man from Philadephia be your friend!