Review: “Like A Fire,” Solomon Burke
You know it’s a pretty good year so far when you get releases from two soul legends just a month apart. Hot on the heels of Al Green’s latest, Southern soul giant Solomon Burke turns in Like A Fire, where he is joined by the likes of Ben Harper and Keb ‘Mo on a batch of new tunes. The title song is contributed by Eric Clapton (although he doesn’t play on it) and it’s followed by “We Don’t Need It,” a Keb ‘Mo composition. Both of these are pretty good, but after that it’s kind of hit and miss. Unlike Green (on his recent Lay It Down) Burke doesn’t approach the power and majesty of his old Atlantic Records music; it’s probably because the material isn’t as consistent and strong. Another cameo appearance, by Ben Harper on “A Minute To Rest And A Second To Pray,” is OK but again here the material is only so-so. Luckily, the 68-year-old Burke is such an explosive singer that he manages to overcome all weaknesses, even if his guest stars don’t. Backed by a band including Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Dean Parks on bass and Steve Jordan (who also produced) on drums, Burke has a versatile group to back his vocal pyrotechnics. The payoff comes late on the album with “Thank You,” co-written by Burke with Clapton, a loping country blues with nice acoustic picking from Kortchmar, that updates the Solomon Burke trademark sound. So nice to have this guy still around, don’t you think?
