Rock 'N Soul

I've never heard of this artist or album but I thought it was overall not bad.

Some good old fashioned motown! this was a nice easy listen

Eh. Basic 60’s sound. Some good tunes but nothing groundbreaking.

Better than most early rock'n'roll.

Much better than the rest of the selections for this week! Great singer

Nice voice but pretty bland everything else, I feel like I've heard everything on there a dozen times already

I thought I'd really enjoy this album based on how much i love Cry to Me, but the other reviews are correct, the other songs on this album are just a bit lacking. My two standouts were Cry to Me and Someone to Love Me, i don't think I'd listen to this album again.

good soul, 3.5

Mostly sounds like nostalgia for me. Won't You Give Him One More Chance is a solid track, as well as some others in here. 3/5

Cool, but not for me

I can appreciate it, but not really my style. Not one I would have on regular rotation. Recognized Cry to Me from somewhere and then realized it was from Dirty Dancing.

Generally alright. I could toss this on in the background. Enjoyable. Inoffensive. Isn't really gripping me. "You Can't Love'em All" is a banger though. Great track. Was the only one to really jump out at me, but in general I was whelmed by the album.

Can't nobody love you is great! It's hard to really judge an oldy rock n roll record for me, on a first listen and all, but it's quite good!

A couple songs that I recognized. Overall, a good solid soul record.

smash-hit-filled soul pop music from the 1960s. all of the songs featured are ballads about the ups, downs... trials and tribulations of romance. if there's one thing i can say about the album, is that burke knows how to sing loud and proud. you can imagine him gripping the mic and sweating as he sings. other than that performance level, the music really nothing special to me i'm afraid. sappy love songs that were pretty typical for this era, nothing really of note this time around.

Good stuff. Not something I’d listen to very often, but good music nonetheless.

Heavier on the soul than the rock, lovely stuff!

amazing, amazing, amazing - to look back at what passed for romantic and lovely lyrics in a bygone era. an album, seemingly, dedicated to the worst woman possible. both described as feeding our vocalist dirt and being disliked and distrusted by everybody else in the entire world. love wins somehow

Helt kurant blues som sikkert var nyskapende da det kom. Greit å høre på og er relativt kort, men kommer nok ikke til å sette på dette igjen.. 🤷

First one that I had never heard of before. I enjoyed it but wasn't blown away - suprising mix of influences from country, jazz, crooner, soul, rock and roll. I knew one or two of the songs from parody versions but not the originals.

Knows what it is, great vocals. Nice in the background

old school, slow, chill

It's a great album for those who enjoy soul, i do like it from time to time but it wouldn't be my 5-star genre. I do want to state that it is a top state of the art of its kind, the genre is not just for me. So if you like it, don't worry about people's 3s or 4s, you'll enjoy it

Fun sound and I appreciate their messages. Don’t love the singer’s style/voice.

- Love the richness of his voice in the lower registers, and when he hits the high notes, there’s great emotion, and I love the raspy effect. The mid registers aren’t as interesting, but they’re nice enough. - The melodies are sweet. - The guitar and keys provide nice counterpoint to the songs, and the horns are simple and easygoing in support of the melodies. I could use a bit more instrumental on the songs without guitar. - My gripes are: 1) I wish the subject matter was more varied - we get it… you love her and/or she’s just not that into you. Is this a 60s albums thing - being *all* about love? It’s pretty boring. The old traditional albums that I’ve listened to so far on this list (Sinatra, Fats Domino, this) have been one-dimensional like this. It can also feel patriarchal. 2) When the backing vocals are thin/shouty and lacking complexity, it can feel unbalanced with his rich vocals. 3) The second half of the album wasn’t as engaging as the first half.

Much like a lot of the older and legacy picks for this list, I don't really see what is so essential about this project despite it having a very well known track like Cry to Me. It is a pretty standard Soul project from this time with the string arrangements and very surface level writing that feels so overdone when looking back on this era of music, but hey I guess I can't complain too hard because this project is still "good" in my eyes. I didn't get a whole lot out of this project but I guess I enjoyed it during the entirety of its' runtime. I think it is a solid and safe Soul project but there are much better efforts in the same genre from the 60s I would rather have than this.

Was hoping for more rock, but a decent album.

It was fine for what it was. Nothing blew my mind but nothing was hard to listen to. Perfectly fine.

Great voice, easy listening

This was pretty good. Never heard Solomon Burke’s music before. It was nothing to blow my world apart, but it is well sung and well delivered. I’m not sure what I’d get from listening to it again, but I’ve got no complaints.

Some great original soul on here. Highlights: "Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)" and "Can't Nobody Love Me"

Cool, mais correct, mais cool quand même. - Cyril, j’te fais une balise temporelle pour mieux te retrouver, je t’ai répondu en trois partie sur Virgin Suicide, Machine Head et Heaux Tales

I liked this album!! I'm not one for blues and soul if im being honest, but I can understand why its on this list-- it just doesn't age particularly well in my eyes. songs added to 1001 playlist: You're Good For Me

Very nice voice, a bit samey samey as an album and I zoomed out a few times. Chill, enjoyable, sentimental.

A pioneer of the soul genre, Solomon Burke's rich vocals drive his 1964 release 'Rock 'n Soul'. While he wasn't much of a songwriter, Burke's soulful delivery acts like both a warm blanket in the quieter parts and a vibrant ball of energy when he lets the passion loose. There's a great deal of dimension to his voice that justifies his reputation as the 'King of Rock 'n Soul'. He may not be as iconic as James Brown, Ray Charles, Otis Redding or Barry White, but Solomon Burke certainly has the talent to match them! Best songs: Cry to Me, Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye), Hard, Ain't It Hard

Great blend of blues, country, gospel, and soul.

Not blown away by the songs or any of the music. Good soul voice, no doubt. But voice alone not enough to put this anywhere near the 4 category.

Great vocals, I wasn't into the arrangements too much though.

Burke really is a great singer. He can go between smooth and gritty in a way not many others are capable of. I think the musicians are also brilliant. It’s hard for me to point out what is lacking. I think the simple answer is the songwriting. Whatever it is, it leaves me with a feeling that it could have been a five star record but it only delivers half of its potential. 3/5

Tässon kaveri joka runsaan levytyssaldon lisäks tykitteli myös perillisiä maailmaan tuimalla tahdilla. No sen voi varmaan laskee aina plussaks, mutta en tiiä vaikuttaako omaan arvosanaan. EHKÄ. No mut kuitenkin, on tää ihan jees mut ei kyl jaksa kuunnella kertaa enempi. Varmaan vähän liian vähän fallout radioo ja samalla liian vähän rokettirollia. Eli semmonen keskiviiva jossa on molemmat puolet haettu mukaan. Keskiviiva-arvosanalla siis mennään ja soppii eppäillä että tätä enää kuuntelisin.

A little aggressive in my ear, but overall I was okay with it.

🤷.

Not my taste, but OK.

Went down easy.

Best Track - "Can't Nobody Love You"

"Hey that's the song from dirty dancing!"

Interesting record. You can feel Burke's voice change from song to song. You can't love 'em all!

I enjoyed it

Veldig koselig musikk Beste sang: Can't nobody love you

No conocía este disco. Por alguna razón solo estoy familiarizado con "Don't Give Up on Me" ("alguna razón" = RYM), más cerca del final de la carrera de Solomon Burke que del comienzo. Y algunos hits. Y fue una sorpresa muy agradable. Por ahora le voy a poner tres estrellas, pero lo voy a escuchar mañana nuevamente. Para no mandarme cagadas. Y es que es un disco que parece que envejeció. Es solo soul y RnB. Pero al mismo tiempo es un disco de 1964. Medio que hizo al soul y al RnB (junto a Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Nina Simone y la mar en coche). Es un disco breve, de unos 35 minutos, quizás un poco repetitivo. Curiosamente los intentos por desviarse de la fórmula me parece que son los peores números (te miro a vos, Just Out of Reach, un intento de country). Igual hay pequeñas cositas en las canciones que muestran un origen más distinto: Cry to Me, por ejemplo, no difiere mucho del resto, pero tiene un poquito de twist en su origen. Las canciones del disco están arregladas con bronces y coros, que se suman a una banda chica (batería, guitarra, bajo), pero lo que destaca es, sobre todo, la excepcional voz de Burke. Los arreglos son muy bonitos, pero a veces parecen un poco excesivos. El disco no tiene ni una sola canción de Burke, ni tuvo que ver con la dirección musical, lo que un poco lo pone atrás de otros músicos de la época. Dicho eso, es un disco muy disfrutable. Casi todas las canciones son buenas o, en el peor de los casos, entretenidas. La canción que me gustó más, al menos por ahora es Won't You Give Him One More Chance, con su guitarrita loca y melodía requete pegadiza. El primer y último tema del disco son muy buenos, me da la impresión de que son los hits obvios del disco; If You Need Me y You're Good for me, son como los temas más "soul" (soul de los 60s) del disco. You Can't Love Me All también está buena. Me hace acordar a algo pero no puedo poner el dedo sobre que es. ¿Algo mexicano? Los vientos son medio mariachis ¿Algo pop de los 60s como los Hollies? Los coros tienen esa vibra. Siento que escuché algo así. Ahh. En cualquier caso, el tema está bueno. En fin, linda sorpresa, pero no creo que pueda tener más de tres estrellas. Al menos por ahora, con solo tres escuchas.

This is a high quality collection of songs with the rich voice of Solomon Burke and warm backing track. This style of soul/RNB doesn’t really resonate with me as much as later evolutions of the style however I understand the huge historical impact and influence of this album/artist. I love the emotion and singing on this album and of course cry to me is a classic. Unfortunately it’s not my style and not something I would listen to.

Pretty unique blues sound and voice - songs don't sound repetitive despite simple rythyms.

Love the way this album is mixed and my favorites were the tracks on side 1 of the album. I had never heard this artist before (I don’t think)

It's a bit of a mixed bag between songs that are impressive, where you can tell they were influential, and songs that feel like they're from the forgettable soundtrack of an old romance film. Pretty decent but maybe not fully for me.

Wide range of vibes off the album, not really my thing. Favorite song is probably can’t nobody love you

An album that reminds me a lot of Little Richard (You've Got Me), but that's because of the style of music and the singer's voice. Overall, I enjoyed listening to this album, even though I don't find the sequence of songs particularly interesting.

Sounds good.

A few good tracks. Some of it is a bit wet.

3.0 - Ok

An enjoyable album. I would listen to it again honestly. Favorite track: If You Need Me

3 out of 5 Some nice blues/jazz/soul oldies. Not too bad.

dont know it!

Not bad. I'm not super into this style of soul but it was enjoyable. Burke has an amazing gritty voice and the accompaniments are groovy. Favorite songs: You're Good for Me, Won't You Give Him a Chance, Beautiful Brown Eyes.

I can understand why people would like this but it’s just not my music taste, or i could be hangry right now i’m not sure

It was some old school classic rock and soul like the album name. I realize I can never sing like that. I don't have soul. But sounded good.

Soulful, my wife would love this album

He has a great charming voice, I just find it kinda monotonous and dated I guess. Tracks to Track: Cry To Me

I feel like this album falls victim to the same detriments that other soul albums of this era have, at least for me. Little Richard, James Brown, Sam Cooke and now Solomon Burke were all excellent performers whose albums I have been handed as part of this project. And in each of those cases, I have lamented that this purely audio experience cannot capture or represent both the impact each artist had on popular culture and music, nor can it demonstrate their insane performance skills. Burke has an ability to really reach, to wail and to pour all of his being into his voice. Simply hearing it is great, but to see the performance is to know it. And you don't get that here. Should I hold that against the album? Is it the album's fault (or Burke's) that this was released at a time when music videos and live performances couldn't be viewed on demand? No, I shouldn't. And I'll try not to. I could listen to Burke sing literally anything. He has such an infectious voice and soul about him. But beyond his voice, the backup singers are absolutely pouring out their souls into these tracks as well. And while they sound dated, the effect isn't lost. The band, too, is excellent. An album like this can't work without these elements. The one thing I would say that's a negative about all of this is that, after a while, the energy gets a little overwhelming. I wouldn't have minded a few breaks of slower songs in there to break up the energy. But that doesn't detract from it being a great album, because it is. Three stars. Standout Tracks: Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye), If You Need Me, Can't Nobody Love You, Someone to Love Me

Pretty classic soul album. no particular song blew me away, but overall had a good vibe that I enjoyed. 3/5.

I enjoyed this. Jazz always just hits.

I really like this era of music and the soul and authenticity it brings. I enjoyed listening to this and may come back to it. But it pales in comparison to some of the similar albums.

Bon album de soul/blues, pas de chose particulière à rajouter

C’est sympa mais je pense que je vais oublier ..

De retour dans le style habituel, c'est bien mais j'ai l'impression d'entendre le même album en boucle 3/5

Enjoyed it somewhat. Listened twice. Great performance but held back by production imo. Not as lively as his contemporaries. But what to do I know really

I have to say, I am not well-versed in the soul genre; I have no idea what makes a soul album good or bad. This was just alright to me. Mr. Burke has a good, powerful voice that delivers the lyrics with great feeling, but after a few songs, they really started to meld together. There was very little variety from song to song, both musically and thematically. I’ll give it a 3/5 because it was mostly enjoyable, but kind of bland.

This music always has a tinge of nostalgia. Gauzy memory flashbacks in holiday movies, etc.

At first, I really wasn't sure I was going to like it. It's a fine album, but I started skipping the songs about halfway through if they didn't get my interest after 30 seconds. I don't think I'd go out of my way to listen to any of the songs, but I wouldn't turn any of them off if they came on. Skipped: Can't Nobody Love You, Just Out of Reach, You're Good For Me, Someone to Love Me, Beautiful Brown Eyes Neutral: Goodbye Baby, Won't You Give Him (One More Chance), If You Need Me, Ain't It Hard, Liked: Cry to Me, You Can't Love Them All, He'll Have To Go Loved: N/A Album Favourite: He'll Have To Go

4estrelas

Solomon Burke’s smoky voice perfectly captures the spirit of “rock ’n soul,” but the album as a whole feels a bit repetitive. After four or five songs, I started to lose interest a little.

279/1089 - Samey but great voice. Definitely a good pick for the historical value of this album too.

I only knew Cry to Me. Enjoyed the rest of this. Great voice.

Why is it just now I'm hearing him now?

Great voice, with great feel. Really gave it the "soul" in the title. I did find the soul was more prevalent than the "rock" aspect, though it fits that descriptor when considering it in the Elvis-era of "rock" over something more modern. Some of the songs had more of it, too, especially on the later half. Regardless of the genre, his vocal efforts filled each song with passion and emotion that made it worth listening to. My main negative is that it was mostly boring outside of the vocals. The instrumentation wasn't all that interesting and really seemed to be there just to accompany the vocals (which, again, were great). That made it feel less engaging as it went, even though it was pretty short. Also gotta knock it down a bit since the artist didn't write the songs, which is my preference in these evaluations. Still, giving it a lot of credit for the performance and execution. It was a good listen. Overall: 3.5/5

Such a great voice. Nice listen.

Solomon Burke's incredible, soulful voice that shines throughout the album. While the lyrics and backing musicianship are excellent, some moments do feel a bit boring.

Classic soul. Not something I'd come across before but very enjoyable.

I was worried I might have a dud here but I actually quite enjoyed this. Very soulful, excellent voice, but perhaps a touch samey over the course of what is a very polite 35 minute run time. Cry To Me is a highlight and looking over reviews, it was featured in ‘Dirty Dancing’, which I have seen more than I care to admit thanks to having an older sister, although I didn’t specifically remember this song. It’s clearly influential, and whilst there is definitely a place for this, I’m not sure when I’d return here, although in the right mood, if someone put it on, I’d be happy enough to listen.

Solid Atlantic soul record with all the usual strengths and flaws like uneven songwriting and lyrics full of cliché. It's a fun listen, even if it doesn't surpass its peers in my book.

6/10… Soul

Some nice, soulful music. Nothing stood out as being particularly outstanding, but it's a decent listen overall.

very soulful, a great voice. An easy listening album. Not a lot of variety between songs. Feels like a Sunday morning vibe

This album is that old gospel/soul sound that I used to hear on R&B dusty radio on Sunday afternoons back in the 80's. That 60's soul sound from Atlantic records that was more earthy and gritty than the Motown sound that was blowing up.

Nice listen

As a massive IDLES fan I was familiar with Cry To Me although not the original artists version. Superb voice this guy and I’m embarrassed I’ve not heard of him before. Really good album with only a couple of songs that haven’t aged so well.

I always enjoy listening to the beginnings of rock and roll and this album was no exception. I won’t revisit it but I didn’t not enjoy it.

Pretty cool. Gave me Good Friday vibes

I enjoyed this very much. I had never heard of Solomon Burke, but not anymore.

Good, but a bit generic and boring soul. I like soul with a bit more grit than this.

Lovely voice, pretty standard songs for the genre, I did enjoy it a lot though. 3.4

6/10 Such a great voice, just the songs are not up there with it.

This was pleasant but I can’t say I will come back to this much, worth hearing for the history but not enough meat on the bone for me.

It’s historically important, and it’s fun/energetic, but it all blended together. Although I can recall the feeling and style of the music, a day after having listened, I can’t name a standout track.

A fun and pleasant romp, but of the other 60's albums I've listened to on this list, this one strikes me as the one with the least variety and least staying power. Still, decent.

Not a bad album, but it did just make me want to put on Sam Cooke.

Jazz/Gospel je dirais, plutot bien oour des moment calme ou juste un petit peu moins que calme

Quite good, its not as straightforwardly rock n' roll as that Little Richard album, which I think I like a lot more, its got elements of Soul stuff and also I feel like there's some Latin stuff in there a bit, notably with the acoustic guitars on some songs. The stacked backing vocals are also really good, and his singing is quite good as well and I feel like totally inspired people like Robert Plant. Not really too much else to say, I always feel like stuff from this era is a bit limited, but I guess this expands it a bit. He also has a few vocals styles so he's not always just yelling. Favourite songs: out of reach (of my two empty arms), won't you give him (one more chance), Beautiful brown eyes. Overall around 6/10

Enjoyable.

Trevligt

Sweet men kanske inte så spännande. Men nosar på högre betyg.

I remembered on listening that Cry to Me by IDLES is a cover

Burke is an undoubtedly talented and expressive performer capable of embodying the wide range of emotions, but unfortunately the songs on this record aren't much more than garden-variety mid-60s R&B.

Fun easy listen, his voice is amazing

Great horns. Good voice. Like it as a 60s album but not my thing overall

I appreciate this for the kind of music it is but this album is more “introspective scenes in The Sopranos” music than it is “classic R&B road trip” type music.

Decent Soul album, but it doesnt speak to me.

Great singing throughout, but it’s tough to fully connect with an album from this time period. Still an enjoyable listen today though.

Old enough it’s cool again. Enjoyable. Call and response backup singers were fun, as was the little doowop kinda vibe on some tracks.

Black Elvis ballads 3

Great singer. Great songs. 👍

This sounds like the 60's. Not necessarily bad, but definitely not my thing.

Just one excellent song among other just fine songs

Classic R&B and soul with some early rock and roll elements and great vocal performance. A little repetitive but overall a nice listen.

Powerful voice, great performances and brilliant songs. The background accompaniments are simple, but effective. It's no wonder he was copied so extensively.

Nice work Sandra

Nearly everything I know about Solomon Burke (which is admittedly very little) came from reading Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. (Weirdly the track listing/order on Apple Music does not match what is on the cover or on Wikipedia. But the Wikipedia page also lists only Burke (vocals) in the "Personnel" section and I definitely hear instruments being played, so who knows...) The lyrics to "He'll Have to Go" are kind of hilarious. "Hard Ain't It Hard" sent me down a Woody Guthrie rabbit hole. Good album.

First listen, beautiful voice. I like the epiphany that he can and will fuck all those women up there on the street. Took me multiple tries to finish 5/10

I was whelmed

This one was nice to throw on, mostly because I like getting more 60s rock, R&B, and soul albums in the mix. It’s got that warm, classic vibe that just feels easy to listen to, and the mix of styles kept things moving. The downside is nothing really jumped out. There weren’t any songs that made me stop what I was doing or want to go back and play them again. It worked best as background music while I was doing other stuff. Overall, Rock n’ Soul was fine. Not bad at all, just not super memorable either. It’s the kind of album you don’t mind having on, but you probably won’t be talking about it afterward.

Alright.

Listening to this will have you wishing you had a group of background singers to emphasize your mundane deeds. If the cake I'm baking needs 2 cups of sugar I need the singers to chime in after I add 1 cup with "he just needs 1, 1 more cup!"

3 out of 5. Not a bad voice, another album that would be good to cook to or something.

Pleasant, soothing, easy listening soul music.

Good soul album, just not great.

comme le nom l'indique

Maravilloso!

I didn't have strong feelings about this album. I liked all of the songs but none of them stood out to me. Solomon has a nice, soulful voice. Lyrics were pretty generic. 6/10

Decent album not likely to check it out again.

*1964. Rock and soul. *Sounds very 50s/early 60s. *Enjoyable enough, but won't revisit. RATING - 6/10

Very nice classic sound, very nice

I was expecting not to like this at all but pleasantly surprised. Nice, easy listen.

some good oldies here. 3/5

6/10

It's fine, it's nice for 50s rock n roll. It's classic, it's singles heavy, it is what it is

Really enjoyable. Good stuff that I've never heard before and that will go into rotation.

I thought I hadn’t heard of Solomon Burke until the first song Cry to me came on and I was like I know this. Unfortunately even though he has a great voice and there were some good other songs nothing quite hit the high of the opening track. The rest sounded a bit samey but on the whole an enjoyable listen.

3.5

Very similar in vibe to the Elvis we just did, this one is also pleasant enough, good voice but again nothing massively jumped out

Better than Coldplay

Nice sounding oldies, could be in fallout. More soul than rock

Pleasant 60s rock and soul from a guy who had a major impact on the way soul went. Happy to have listened, probably won't return.

Decent soul record

chill oldies vibes, similar to sam cooke

Objectivement bon mais un peu boring 🤷🏻‍♀️

Mjög fínt sólrokk.

Cool old sound

I'd heard of Soloman Burke but wasn't really aware of his work. Hes got a great voice and this was a nice, easy Saturday morning listen. Researching him online, it says he chose the title of this album as he was uncomfortable being associated with rhythm and blues, which he believed had "a stigma of profanity", because of his clean lifestyle and strong spiritual beliefs. Imagine my surprise on the catchy Hard, Ain't It Hard when I could of swore I heard him sing "that shit's hard" but according to the original lyrics it's actualky "that's sure hard". I'd give it a four if he had been a formative influence on gangsta rap but it's a very solid 3.

Okayes Album gibt einige Songs die ich mal gehört habe

I really enjoyed listening this album as soul had been a genre I was interested in, but never knew where to start. Solomon has a great voice and the tracks are very simple and melodic which will instantly hook you. The instrumentation might get repetitive at times or similar message, but over all these are great tracks and solid album to throw on and listen to. My top 3 songs are probably If You Need Me, Someone to Love Me, and You Can’t Love ‘Em All

3 08.15.2025

Maybe it’s because this album seemed to match my mood today, but I really enjoyed this one. He’s got the type of voice that I tend to like. I don’t even know what to say about it really, except that I loved the way it sounds. I was only familiar with the song Cry to Me, but then song after song was a win. The very last song He’ll Have to Go was probably my favorite overall.

3/5

It was as expected

Decent album. -3/5

A fine album for its time. Not a fan of the genre, but I appreciate it for what it is.

Fun stuff. Classic rock. Classic soul. Great voice

Great voice, and I love the old blues/soul sound. I can't fault it but somehow doubt I would listen to him again.

Very nice. Knew the name but didn’t know his was the King of Rock and Soul. Good tunes, will come back for more.

I don’t really have anything interesting to say about this kind of music. It’s all kind of the same to me. It hits me the same way that Leon bridges does - polished and pleasant but in the end, sort of empty.

Just discovered Burke a few weeks ago when a friend sent over his cover of A Change Is Gonna Come. Really soulful and long career This was huge at its time, but it doesn’t stand out too much from similar 60s stuff - otis Redding for example. 2.5 stars for me. Rounding up because its easy listening

A lot of fun and great vocals. Never overstayed it's welcome. Only a couple filler songs.

Good 60s vibes

Good voice and well executed, but hardly groundbreaking. There's a lot of other artists that do the same thing better.

Enjoyable little album.

Its not bad but definitely nothing special. Quite generic honestly. Favourite Song: Hard, Ain't It Hard

another solid r&b/soul album, just an enjoyable listen.

Sounded like generic 60s rock. Nothing stood out, and it sounded like a bunch of other stuff I've already listened to.

Good album, but no song I would specifically pick out and listen to

decent blues soul

Listening Notes: -Can't Nobody Love You: at this point, it started to feel that this was generic, if well done, soul music. Nothing very new or fresh. Of course like most soul music, the vocals are incredible. But I feel like everything here has been done before. Doesn't help that Burke directly references a few artists in this song who have said almost the same thing as him (But he's gonna say it better, he says) -In general by the end of the album I'm mostly just bored. This would be fine background music, but what has been accomplished here? -Out of reach feels like a combo of the worst of soul and the worst of Frank Sinatra. In general it took society longer to figure out slow slongs than it did to figure out fast ones... -On the other hand goodbye baby is much more defensible. Review: Frankly, maybe I'm not enough a soul fan, but I just don't really see what we've added from earlier soul records. I know with the benefit of being 60 years later that Mayfield and others will do crazy things with the genre, but this mostly feels like it's stalled in the wake of Redding or Cooke, but with less energy. It's absolutely fine soul, but the bar is high if you aren't going to do more with it.

This is #day359 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this was a pretty cool-sounding rock'n'soul, if you will. That's a classic record in the category of a 3 out of 5 to me. That is, I appreciate the historical value, and I don't mind listening to it, even though the music itself is quite outside of my wheelhouse. Love the bluesy undertones, though. Looking forward to #day360.

Great voice, of course. The production is so . . . old-fashioned, though. And not in an appealing way. For instance: songs that are spoken more than sung. Or: background singers that would make more sense these days in an amateurish radio ad. Etc. This is an album that looked backward (to the 50s) and not ahead to the R&B and rock revolutions that were already breaking.

pristojno, solidno, al nije moj đir

It was nice, really nice voice, I would put this album while I cook or a family reunion

#DÍA 12: 1001 Discos Que Hay Que Escuchar Antes De Morir (English Translation Below) Yendo bastante atrás en el tiempo, a un momento del que he escuchado poca música, así que es genial poder empezar a explorarlo. Solomon Burke fue nombrado como el “rey del Rock ‘N Soul”, un término que deriva del matrimonio entre ambos estilos musicales (aunque aquí en AOTY se menciona como Rhythm and Blues, mejor conocido como R&B). Ha sido enriquecedor escuchar muchas ideas que serían tan influyentes en literalmente toda la música por venir, ya sea los Beatles, el R&B más contemporáneo o el Hip Hop, fijo que algún sample se ha hecho de este álbum. Es una lista completa de canciones de amor, sea de un corazón roto, amor imposible o un deseo incontrolable de amar. La voz de Solomon Burke es cálida y expresiva como poco, emociona con facilidad y puedo entender con facilidad por qué se le dio tal título en su día. Por otro lado instrumentalmente es bastante sólido, me gustaría buscar quién tocó la guitarra de este LP porque me ha parecido un estilo encantador. Eso sí, no es la experiencia de álbum más increíble que exista, aunque es normal dado el entendimiento que había por entonces del formato. En general ofrece temas sólidos del género, bien sentidas y que dan una imagen de época interesante. Favoritas: Cry to Me, Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye), If You Need Me, Can’t Nobody Love You, Won’t You Give Him (One More Chance) Menos favorita: Hard, Ain’t It Hard #DAY 12: 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die Going quite a ways back in time, to a moment from which I've heard little music, so it's great to start exploring it. Solomon Burke was named the "King of Rock 'N Soul," a term that comes from the marriage between both musical styles (although here on AOTY it’s mentioned as Rhythm and Blues, better known as R&B). It’s been enriching to hear so many ideas that would become incredibly influential in literally all music to come — whether it's the Beatles, more contemporary R&B, or Hip Hop — I’m sure some sample has been taken from this album. It’s a full list of love songs, whether about heartbreak, impossible love, or an uncontrollable desire to love. Solomon Burke’s voice is warm and deeply expressive — it stirs emotion with ease, and I can clearly understand why he was given such a title in his time. On the other hand, instrumentally it’s quite solid; I’d like to find out who played guitar on this LP because I find the style to be quite charming. That said, it’s not the most incredible album experience ever, which is understandable given the limited understanding of the album format at the time. Overall, it offers solid tracks of the genre, pretty heartfelt, and giving an interesting picture of the era. Favorites: Cry to Me, Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye), If You Need Me, Can’t Nobody Love You, Won’t You Give Him (One More Chance) Least favorite: Hard, Ain’t It Hard

coherent album, just no songs I'd put in my daily playlist.

Olz-tiney soul, quite good. 3.5 stars

3.5

Old King Solomon was a merry old soul… yeah, man! His personal life on quick glance is ‘massively’ more interesting than this album in fact. He ended up fathering 21 sprog which is a figure Elon Musk is still a third of the way to matching and on top of that he had 90 grand sprog. In the time leading up to his death from pulmonary embolism after being warned not to travel he weighed 350 pounds, looking like a cross between Ceelo Green and Jabba The Hutt and he insisted on performing on a throne which he had to be wheeled, forklifted or even air craned onto. In terms of this record specifically and its musical value, it’s a somewhat warm, amiable, silky sixties soul venture that gets just a little crusty and samey over its runtime. The key high points are Cry To Me because it’s a bit more classic and impassioned and is used in Dirty Dancing, Won’t You Give Him (One More Chance) because it’s janglier and parts of it sound like Sunny and also Jim Reeves cover He’ll Have To Go because Jim Reeves and He’ll Have To Go. Not a rock solid 4 overall. More of a shaky 3.5.

2.92

If You Need Me to tell you to listen to this album, then Goodbye Baby.

Have respect for him because he sung one of my favourite songs in the wire (fast train) but not hugely into this album. Didn’t move me Specific rating- 3.3 Fav song- cry to me Least fav- he’ll have to go

What an incredible voice! Which is why it's a shame that some of the songs on the album don't have him demonstrating how amazing his voice is. Favourite song: Cry to Me Least: Hard, Ain't It Hard

Se forja un sonido desde el sur. Solomon Burke es quien prendió la luz del nuevo género Rock ’N Soul en pleno auge de los derechos civiles en EE.UU. El nombre del álbum ya es un statement en sí mismo, y le da el lugar que merece en esta generación azarosa de discos. Ayudó a que Atlantic Records se convirtiera en una meca con santos de mi devoción: Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding o Sam Cooke. Su timbre de voz, los coros góspel y sus letras son un claro ejemplo de que es imposible escuchar este disco sin ser arrastrado a los años 60 —como elogio y como límite. Es un álbum que parece pausado en el tiempo, una cápsula perfecta para romantizar la nostalgia de una época no vivida. “If You Need Me” y “Cry to Me” muchos las reconocen por su aparición en Glee (o películas románticas), pero fueron piedras fundacionales del soul sureño en los años 60. Están lejos de ser simple relleno melódico. Es un gran disco si se lo toma por lo que es, sin exigirle más: un álbum de su época con una performance vocal exquisita, que va del discurso empoderado de iglesia al susurro cariñoso de una caricia. Siento que le dedicaría una canción de Solomon Burke a alguien que amo, para exigirle un dulce abrazo que contenga despues de volver a casa de estar romantizando la nostalgia por tanto tiempo que hasta hizo delicado el sonido de extrañar.

I like the space on this album. The songs are deceptively simple but each element is carefully crafted. It is a little one note though. Cheesy lyrics but that’s what this music is. Nice voice and harmonies too. Fav tracks - Cry to me - Just Out of Reach - Won’t You Give Him One More Chance - He’ll have to go

A little more gospel-y than I would like

The Good: We get Soulful Rock! The Bad: Turns out to be Rockful Soul… The Ugly: Last name not being Grundy… Obviously it is a great thing when one get’s to listen to some soul music after the amount of shit that I’ve had to endure through so far… however, any album, and I mean ANY album, by Otis Redding blows this out of the water… so why am I listening to this one? Sure, the opening tune is a fucking gem, and should be on everyone's 5* playlist. Yet the rest of the album is neither fish nor fowl… and I really wanted to have a religious experience while listening to Mr Burke preach to me… Also, as a Public Service Announcement to all who might be curious… don’t go playing the album which finally got Solomon a Grammy… what a piece of shit that was. His voice is stellar, and we know he’s got soul… but this album is just… not worthy of more than 2*… but I’ll bump it up thanks to Cry To Me 3*

Good... not first 60s soul record I'd reach for though.

kinda boring imo. i mean i guess it was perfectly pleasant? sometimes i wonder why i am doing this

Kyllä tää ihan groovas! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tykkäsin! Helppo kuunneltava, ei tullut epämiellyttäviä ylläteitä tällä albumilla.

Solomon Burke had great voice, there's no disputing that, and this is a good listen but it's no more than that for me. This album lacks variety, with most of the songs sounding somewhat similar. Also the cover of this album is awful. Three stars. Would I listen to this again? No. Would I buy this album? No. 1. "Cry to Me" (Bert Russell) – 2:27 - 4 Stars. 2. "Just Out of Reach" (Virgil Stewart) – 2:46 - 3 Stars. 3."Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)" (Wes Farrell, Bert Russell) – 3:16 - 3 Stars. 4. "If You Need Me" (Robert Bateman, Wilson Pickett, Sonny Sanders) – 2:29 - 3 Stars. 5. "Can't Nobody Love You" (James Mitchell) – 2:30 - 3 Stars. 6. "Someone to Love Me" (Sonny Burke) – 2:59 - 3 Stars. 7. "You're Good for Me" (Don Covay, Horace Ott) – 2:45 - 3 Stars. 8. "Won't You Give Him (One More Chance)" (Joseph Martin, Winfield Scott) – 2:31 - 3 Stars. 9. "Hard, Ain't It Hard" (Woody Guthrie)[10][12] – 2:45 - 3 Stars. 10. "You Can't Love Them All" (Bert Berns, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Nugetre) – 2:40 - 3 Stars. 11. "Beautiful Brown Eyes" (Sonny Burke, Bert Russell) – 3:42 - 3 Stars. 12. "He'll Have to Go" (Audrey Allison, Joe Allison) – 3:16 - 3 Stars. Total - 37 Average - 3.08

joohoh harvinaisen laimeaa settiä. en nyt odottanutkaan mitään nobelikirjallisuutta mutta miten voi sanoa näin vähän asioita. solomonin ääni toimii enemmän instrumenttina kun minään kertojana. piispa piispa mitä saarnoja tällä kertaa jahas ei mitään? ööh marttini ja skotti ja muut kynäviekot nyt vähän vähän pudottanut diskopallon käsistään lattialle.. ehkä pappi vois ensi kerralla jotain omaa materiaalia kokeilla rustata heh.. missä vaiheessa kolme pistettä on muuttunut kahdeksi pisteeksi uskomaton paradigm shift tapahtunut eikä koskaan edes.. näinknö se kieli muuttuu old english to knew english.. cry tome

When I saw the year of this album and the name, I figured I would recognize a few of the songs, but I was surprised that I didn't know any. I don't know this generation of music very well, and although it was pleasant, it didn't seem too amazing or outstanding compared to a lot of other songs from this era that I know. It didn't make it bad, but it didn't seem super special to me, but it's entirely possible it was groundbreaking at the time.

give this to me more then like a year ago and i wouldn't of liked it - give it to me now and i'm enjoying it - it's rock and roll but has SOUL in it. and not just soul, but SOUL.

That was an ok listen. For me, born in early 1970s, it's old people/parents' music.

"Cry to me"- es un temazo increíble, una voz impresionante, mucho mejor que Elvis

Very good

The writer of the signature **Blues Brothers** track _Everybody Needs Somebody_, a song I know inside out as a friend and I would regularly perform it on karaoke (I was Jake). So this was a good opportunity to get to know more from the man and, as a fan of early blues, soul and R&B, this is very much in my wheelhouse. Probably doesn't sound as groundbreaking as perhaps it did in 1964 but gave enough on first listen and one to explore further.

I really did'nt absorb this but it was soothing for my morning emails.

It isn't something I will probably listen to again but I enjoyed it for what it was. Soothing tunes, not boring.

Dikke prima

Amazing and diverse vocals, everything from silky smooth to rough rock vocals. Songs are good, but not expectionally good. Backing vocals and band are also really good. Really enjoyable listen, but maybe could have more varied song material, especially in the latter part of the record.

More soul than rock. Not my cup of tea but still listenable.

Good fun! I love me some Atlantic Soul but had somehow managed to overlook Solomon Burke, although I recognised quite a few tracks when I had a listen through.

Good vibes

I will come back to this one.

Firstly: what a beautiful voice. Genuinely, heartbreakingly, lovely. Cry To Me was great, particularly the honky-tonk piano bits. I also loved Won't You Give Him (One More Chance) and You Can't Love 'Em All, with its mariachi style brass accompaniment. Also I have weak spot for that 60s slightly-shouty female backing vocal thing that happens on a lot of these songs. I was generally less keen on the slower tracks than the more upbeat ones, as I don't think they lived up to the rest, so that brings down the overall score for me. Every song on this album sounds like it's a hairs breadth away from appearing on an Edgar Wright film soundtrack. As is so often the case, I would like a half mark (3.5) but in the absence of that option: 3/5

All sounds very similar. Still like the genre.

Great soulfull record. Burke has an amazing voice. Sounds very much like it's time. Which is charming, but also limiting.

Fun but not what I’d often choose to listen to.

3/5

I loved some of the songs on this, but as an entire album, it really dragged. I'll add a bit to my regular rotation but I don't think I'll be revisiting the whole thing.

It is targeting mostly for women who felt lonely in general and lean on him.

Pretty standard soul stuff but there are some bangers on here

This album is great for demostrated the connection between early rock n roll and soul music. As the title suggests, Solomon Burke had a foot in both worlds. While the later half of the 60s would see rock music shoot off into strange new directions, Burke maintains the classic style and does it perfectly. Burke's sweet and powerful crooning alone is worth a listen. While it's not my favorite album out there, there's definitely something classic about this one.

Great voice but the music as perfectly serviceable as it is - feels restrained to me and lacks much excitement. I imagine the hit singles (all 7!) sounded pretty good in 1964 coming out of the car radio and all sound good in 2025 but never great. A one-off listen as I'm having a difficult time finding anything bad to say about this album but also a difficult time finding anything great to say other than he has a thundering voice too bad the music never matches that voice.

Solid album but felt a little boring after a while. Definitely well made just repetitive and slow paced.

Light hearted but predictable

Listened through. He’s a good singer. Obviously old production

OK, not my thing but easy enough

Pleasant enough for a listen but probably won't return to it.

Umm...not much to say about this one. It's good. He seems to have influenced quite a few others, even if not achieving the same popularity as them.

I really liked the album, not enough to listen to it again, but was a great listen!

I enjoyed this album but didn’t know any of the songs though some of them sounded vaguely familiar.

Solid throwback

Solid soul album. Definitely need to be in a certain mood to appreciate it, not a regular listen for me.

One of the tracks is on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. As far as I’m concerned that gives the album a baseline of 3. There wasn’t much more to this that I could give it higher. Nothing grossly offensive to knock it down.

Mainly had on in the background but it was enjoyable. May well give it another crack

Big voice. Great tunes. Appreciated the Woody Guthrie feature. Standout tracks are: “Cry to Me” and “Hard, Ain’t it Hard”

This is cool. Blends country, soul, rock and funk with great vocals. A good listen.

Grei musikk, ikke noe mer eller mindre.

Pretty good some nice old school jazz reminded me of Charles Bradley specifically changes

This one felt like accidentally walking into a bar with some old folks slow dancing with their lovers; you just can't help but smile and let your body move to the beat. It does lack variety between the songs almost giving the sense of the entire album being one long track but it grows on you after a while.

Great voice!

This album was pretty good. Not my favourite genre but he sang with passion.

i know i write this in a review like once a week, but Cry to Me might be one of the lowkey best songs ever (case in point it was in Dirty Dancing). Solomon Burke has a really great, timeless soul voice and I feel like is very under the radar compared to the greats

pretty good. what else needs to be said

I love older music and this album is not exception. I’ve always loved how genuine soul music is and this album hits the mark perfectly.

Beautiful voice and beautiful sound. Totally enjoyed and would listen to again.

Good soul music. Enjoyable listen

It's a solid R&B album. It made me way too sad though haha that's the blues, baby. Not something I'm going to seek out again. "Cry to me" was super familiar, but I can't tell if I've heard the song before or the melody was ripped off by someone else.

3/5

My wife is on heavy-duty, nerve-blocking painkillers. "Why are you listening to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack?" she asked. I explained. "It sounds good though." It does sound good. I wasn't listening intently. Maybe it wouldn't sound good if I was listening closely rather than nursing my ill wife. But she liked it. The arrangements are sweet and characterful. Solomon Burke's voice is sweet and characterful too. I don't know that I can say more than that, but I trust my wife when she says that, with her nervous system dulled, she likes it. 3 Although I am not convinced that there is a great song on this album, the arrangements elevate everything. They are light and detailed - great lines everywhere, especially the guitar (whoever is playing it - I couldn’t find a credit online). Solomon Burke has a terrific voice; gruffer than Sam Cooke’s but almost as impressive. The backing singers, whoever they were, are top notch as well. A very easy listen. 3/5

soulful, but did not really listen.

Locker cooles Album. Gewisse Sachen bleiben zeitlos.

What a voice!!! Track one, Cry To Me already on my liked songs (well known track) but the second track showcases how amazing his voice really is, track three shows how versatile it is with less crooning and more soul... my goodness!

The album is as advertised: It's Rock. And Soul. Of the old school kind. While some of the songs are not bad, the whole affair sounds a bit cringey to my ears. Oh well ... 2.5/5

More soul than rock

Med hits som Cry to me, If you need me, You’re good for me, Someone to love me, Can’t nobody love you og Goodbye baby (baby goodbye) føltes denne litt ensidig. Cry for me er den desidert mest populære, men den skilte seg ikke noe særlig ut.

Oldie rock and roll, solid

This was a good album. I enjoyed it.

Very good

It was good, but sounded pretty much the same. It sounded very similar to all this kinda “old timey rock and roll”. Yet good, nothing was bad to listen to

The artist is fantastic at giving us one thing, but not much else to be honest. What's there is great though.

A great voice, but this is just a bunch of (unsuccessful) attempts to rewrite 'Stand by me'.

Never heard of this artist. Album was nice.

I enjoyed it. Some solid songs. But not essential by any means.

Not really my thing (I tend to dislike this kind of music); however, Solomon Burke is a really good singer, you can hear.

Cry to me was a banger, everything else was mildly mid, wont mind it too much but come one.. jazz can be more fun man

Fun. Not going to listen on my own though. 3/5

Fantastisk röst. Inlevelsen! Tyvärr märkt av dåtidens popproduktion. Mer pop än soul tyvärr. Smöriga körer som kanske inte alltid lyfter låtarna. Finns ett gott driv i rytm-sektionen. Kunde varit råare, mer soul eller mer country. Stark 3:a eller svag 4:a. Bästa spår: Beautiful Brown Eyes, You're Good for Me

It took me a few tracks to acclimatise. The studio/room sound dominates … I’m assuming that they mixed the room and lead vocal live. Some tracks get the balance better than others. Thankfully it’s an album of short songs, so starting again was not an issue. From my own perspective decades later, with how I’ve been exposed to music, the soul parts are amazing and the rock parts are unremarkable … evoking Elvis/Sun. The last track, He'll Have to Go, is the weakest here.

I want to drink red wine and cook dinner to this album.

Good times. Happy stuff

Le titre de l'album reflète parfaitement l'union du rock entraînant et joyeux au soul de certaines mélodies et paroles.

Great representation for early soul. Solomon Burke has a great voice and the songs are fine. But not much special going on and as an album it isn't really anything special. I like it but beyond singles not worth a revisit. 3 1=Crap that shouldn't be here 2=I didn't like it but get why it's here 3=I thought it was ok or even like it, get why it's here, but won't revisit 4=I like it, will revisit 5=This is some of the best music I've ever heard and will continue listening to it

I see this guy has a huge Australian following. Interesting. I hear a few different styles on here. Definitely a bit of gospel, soul, and blues. My favorite is You Can't Love 'Em All. There's so much going on in that one. This was easy on the ears. I'll give it a 3.

I instantly recognized the opening track from the excellent Dirty Dancing soundtrack. I always liked that song, but didn't know anything else from this guy, so it was cool to listen to this album. Solid soul from the '60s.

Unremarkable.

Simultaneously 1001 continues to give me great new old Jazz, R&B, Soul albums in one hand and then in the other throws me an album that I only love song from. This is unfortunately the latter. Can't nobody love you is great, the rest is inoffensive and forgettable. 6/10

Good

The blues stuff was really fun, the soul part was a bit bland and sadly made up a large majority of the album

Régi basic nem rossz lemez

honest to god what even happened in this album

Favorite track: Cry to me other picks: goodbye baby, if you need me, you're good for me

Behagelig

point6.

Great tunes, but in that "early days of pop music" it's just a bunch of good songs together instead of, like, an album with shape? Dunno. Whatever, "no" skips, but also too much of a good thing - by the time I got to the end I was like, "ok, I got it, this song isn't bringing me anything new."

Great pipes! Love this genre of music…

it was really good and pleasant. I knew some but the rest was really good

Solid soul. He has a powerful voice. I think Otis is more my speed though.

I feel like a 3/5 stars is always a cop out for anything this old. But Ive said this before and I’ll say it again - it’s hard to judge records like these and feel like I have anything meaningful to contribute. So I try to treat these as opportunities to be thankful for how much variety is at my fingertips - I listened to some very cool 90’s dub techno right after this. The best song on here, to my ears, is “Beautiful Brown Eyes”. It felt the most complete and varied from start to finish. 3/5.

Good production and great vocals, but it wasn't really my kind of music.

3 I’ve never heard of Solomon Burke, but I’ve now seen a few reviewers stress both him and this album as important pieces of musical history for their role in shaping soul music. Considering when this came out, I can’t say that I disagree, but I also can’t help but wonder if he’s being given perhaps a bit too much credit considering James Brown and Sam Cooke had already been doing this kind of thing for a couple of years now. Hell, Sam Cooke even had an album literally entitled “Mr. Soul” that came out a year prior. That’s not to say this album is unenjoyable or unimportant by any means, but overall it just doesn’t feel quite as significant or all that captivating to me as compared to the albums we’ve heard from JB & SC on this list. Granted, theirs were both live albums, so that may have played a factor - maybe I just need to hear my guy Sol perform live to get it as well, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like he has any from this era. Still, this certainly has that classic soul sound to it we all know and love, but in this case it’s just associated with a disjointed assortment of good, but not great tracks. You start on a high note with Cry to Me, which is probably the best song here and also one that I’m pretty sure I’ve heard at some point or another, but things quickly get pretty middling from there. It never turned into anything that I disliked, but it also never really turned into anything that I found remarkable either. I did dig the backing vocalists that were featured on a lot of the songs, especially the one in particular that had the call and “Dum Dum” response kind of thing going on, but I couldn’t point you to which track that was now if I tried. Not something I would call great or important myself, but it’s certainly not bad.

nice

Ok, 3/5

holy get this guy a lady to cuddle asap man is struggling

A nice soul album, nothing really stood out but it was a good listen. Maybe if I knew more about soul I'd be more favourable

This album really isn't my genre, but I appreciate its technique. The percussion is layered and complex. The vocal harmonies have a great texture that's totally absent from contemporary music. There are some interesting threads to Western music. This album really tells stories. I don't know if all those stories resonate with me personally, and the tempo is a little slow for me, but it does what it sets out to do.