Solomon Burke's "Don't Give Up On Me"- C or D?

And besides, what is "the right thing for Solomon" to sing? Why is there a specific kind of Solomon Burke song that he has to restrict himself to?

I love both the more traditional stuff like 'Don't give up on me' AND stuff like 'Always keep a diamond'.

The "I can't be your Bob Dylan" bit in 'Stepchild' was a nice little touch, though; it adds another layer to the doubling back of respect that obviously exists between Burke and his songwriting contingent.

One of the things I really like about it is that he is singing what are "clearly Dylan, Costello and Wilson songs". Particularly 'Stepchild'. He's got the interpretative ability to carry it off, but more than that it's interesting to hear him doing stuff beyond retreads of 'Down in the valley'.

And besides, what is "the right thing for Solomon" to sing? Why is there a specific kind of Solomon Burke song that he has to restrict himself to?

I was in a hurry and didn't quite express myself correctly- I've no problem with Burke trying out new stuff. The thing is, tho, that the Dylan, Costello and Wilson songs are so archetypically Dylan, Costello and Wilson- it seems like they weren't in the least attentive to whom they were actually writing these songs for, and Solomon's interpretations basically consist in adding his trademark sound to the songs, i.e. all of these songs would sound better if done by their original creator and make you think of them when you listen to 'em anyway. I mean, come on, the eternally boyish Brian Wilson can get away with lines like "I was a fool/I told a lie/I did you wrong"; Solomon Burke cannot.

The "I can't be your Bob Dylan" bit in 'Stepchild' was a nice little touch, though; it adds another layer to the doubling back of respect that obviously exists between Burke and his songwriting contingent.

I always assumed that Dylan wrote it that way, which made me want to slap him real hard.

Of course, Burke's people could have requested a song and they were given that or his producers could have heard the unreleased BB version and chosen it themselves.

Jon Spencer meets Solomon Burke

Cynical, unfair, yeah, perhaps. Maybe what really bugs me are the reviews I've read, some of which have made far too many claims about Burke's stature (though frankly who cares if they got *that* wrong, and good for him to get some recognition, no doubt), but also his overall importance in the history of soul. I'm sorry, I like a couple of his songs (I love "Cry to Me"), and there's no doubt other good stuff out there, but is he really that significant? I've honestly seen him compared in at least one review to Otis Redding and Al Green, which just seems like a conveniently revisionist stance.

I'm not gonna keep going here--maybe it's a great record. But album of the year?!

But it's not even the best Fat Possum release of '02. That would be Asie Payton, followed by T-Model.

No, you're thinking of Time Out of Mind. Critics liked Love and Theft because it was good; they didn't have to make excuses for its faults.

On the flip side, to argue FOR the alb the SB one (and maybe to trivialize it a bit in the same breath), it's very demoralizing to hear great singers (Joe Cocker comes immediately to mind, George Jones too) who have still got the chops but get/choose shit material. At the very least, as we heard on Johnny Cash's first three American albums, we've got a great singer having a good with decent material.

No, you're thinking of Time Out of Mind.

The Boomer Ideal is to die from disease, bitter and alone?