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!