Solomon Burke

Solomon Burke - Solomon Burke (1960) & If You Need Me (1963) {Soul Jam Records 600893 rel 2016}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 416 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 178 Mb
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© 1960, 1963, 2016 Soul Jam Records | 600893
Rhythm and Blues / Soul / Country Soul / Deep Soul / Southern Soul

This essential release includes two of Burke’s finest long plays from the early Sixties in their entireties: his underrated and eponymous debut album, Solomon Burke, and the equally splendid If You Need Me. These two LPs are widely regarded as landmarks of early-’60s soul. Both masterpieces have been remastered and packaged together in this very special release, which also includes 6 bonus tracks from the same period. These seminal recordings also feature a virtual who’s who of fabulous musicians, including King Curtis, Hank Jones, Al Caiola, Mickey Baker, and The Ray Charles Singers, among others. This is the material upon which Solomon Burke’s legend was built. It is enduring music and the epitome of southern soul up north.

It's all but impossible to make a bad record with Solomon Burke; as a vocalist, the man is simply a force of nature, and all you have to do is point him in front of a microphone and let him do his stuff and you'll have something worth hearing. But coming up with accompaniment that's worthy of Burke's talents isn't quite as simple, and for a man who cut his teeth working with the likes of Jerry Wexler and Bert Berns, finding the right producer in this day and age is no simple matter……

This 3-CD SoulMusic Records’ set celebrates the recordings that Solomon Burke made for the legendary Atlantic Records label between 1960 and 1968. Solomon is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest soul singers to emerge during the genre’s golden days. He signed to Atlantic before ‘soul music’ became a bona fide sub-genre of African-American music and it was Solomon who helped define this new movement and he was, in fact, one of the first artists to use ‘soul’ to describe his music. He would eventually be known the world over as ‘The King of Rock and Soul’.

While Solomon Burke never made a major impact upon the pop audience he never, in fact, had a Top 20 hit he was an important early soul pioneer. On his '60s singles for Atlantic, he brought a country influence into R&B, with emotional phrasing and intricately constructed, melodic ballads and midtempo songs. At the same time, he was surrounded with sophisticated "uptown" arrangements and was provided with much of his material by his producers, particularly Bert Berns. The combination of gospel, pop, country, and production polish was basic to the recipe of early soul.