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: #52330 in Music
• Released on: 2006-10-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

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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!

Following in the footsteps of Ray Charles
In the sixties, Solomon Burke had hits in the American pop charts with R+B covers of country songs, though without making the same impact as Ray Charles, but I believe that this is Solomon's first album that actually focuses on country songs. For this album, he enlisted the support of a stellar cast of guests including five female singers.

The set begins with That's how I got to Memphis, written by Tom T Hall, though Solomon could have learned the song from Bobby Bare's recording. Both Tom and Bobby have plenty of more famous songs to their credit, but the song suits Solomon well and makes a great opening to the album. Next up is a Jim Lauderdale song (Seems like you're gonna take me back), which is followed by a duet with Dolly Parton on one of her early hits (Tomorrow is forever, which she originally recorded as a duet with Porter Wagoner).

The fourth track (Ain't got you) is a Bruce Springsteen song. I've come across several covers of Bruce's songs by country singers, including traditionalists like Mel McDaniel, and they always work well. Whatever you think about Bruce's politics (and mine are very different from his), Bruce always wrote good songs with thoughtful lyrics. Next is Valley of tears, a Gillian Welch song that features the lady herself as Solomon's duet partner. Honey where's the money gone (written by Paul Kennerley and Barry Tashian) precedes Atta way to go, a cover of a Don Williams song from the early seventies.

Kevin Welch wrote Millionaire; he plays guitar on Solomon's version here, with Buddy Miller playing guitar and joining Solomon on vocals. Patty Griffin wrote Up on the mountain; here she joins Solomon for a duet version of the song. The next two tracks (Does my ring burn my finger?, Vicious circle) find Solomon singing solo. We're gonna hold on, performed here as a duet with Emmylou Harris, started life as a duet by George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Patty Loveless joins Solomon for a duet version of You're the kind of trouble. The album closes with a solo version of a Tammy Wynette classic, Till I get it right. I suspect that Solomon would have liked to sing with Tammy and they would surely have sounded great together. Even so, this is a brilliant album from start to finish.

The songs selected are not necessarily obvious choices but I suspect that Solomon, clearly a country music fan, may have most or all of the original versions in his own record collection. Solomon brings an R+B feel to all the recordings so some traditionalists may not be keen, but there is plenty here to satisfy most country fans and some non-country fans too.