The King of Rock & Soul
Solomon Burke - "Everbody Needs Somebody" (Live on Top of the Pops)
Solomon Burke with Van Morrison - "Fast Train" (circa 2004)
If you've never heard Solomon Burke's 1985 live album Soul Alive!
, you owe it to yourself. The most electric live album I've ever heard -- two hours of one of the greatest singers of our time in a small venue packed with people just WAILING. What a singer Burke is. Truly a special genius, the one and only King of Rock and Soul.
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posted by Jesse Thorn at Wednesday, January 31, 2007
6 Comments:
Video evidence to support the plea of "Hang it up, Janis Joplin"
Hah! Totally.
Van Morrison, in my book, is the only white person to succesfully sing soul music. He's a great singer with his own style and just enough craziness and church in him. Maybe there's someone else I'm not thinking of, but I don't believe there is.
Solomon Burke and Van Morrison together: awesome. Jesse, have you heard Solomon's 1969 Bell album "Proud Mary"? It's got a great version of "That Lucky Old Sun".
Speaking of live albums - what about Sam Cookes "Harlem Square Club"-album and, of course, Van's "It's Too Late To Stop Now"? Probably my favorites.
I've never heard the Van Morrison album, but that's a great Sam Cooke album. Another good live record is Otis Redding In Person at the Whiskey a Go Go. The version of "Try A Little Tenderness" on there is unbelievable.
I don't know that one, but I love "Otis Blue".
By the way, my favorite 60's-Soul-album has to be James Carr's "You Got My Mind Messed Up".
Maybe Dusty Springfield at her best? Can't think of anyone else. I'm with you on Van Morrison. I've heard it described once that singers in the UK imitate black artists without the self-consious constraints and a certain arrogance that they can be just as good. They're not, of course, but much better than their white American counterparts.
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