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Solomon Burke
Like a Fire
(Shout! Factory)
First Appeared in The Music Box, June 2008, Volume 15, #6
Written by John Metzger
Wed June 18, 2008, 06:30 AM CDT
Since releasing Don’t Give Up on Me in 2002, Solomon Burke has been a
man on a mission to make up for lost time. The endeavor not only paired him with
producer Joe Henry as well as a team of high-profile songwriters who long had
admired the work that he did during the 1960s, but it also sparked his unlikely
comeback. Burke’s follow-up set Make Do with What You Got swapped Henry’s
understated production for incendiary rock ’n‘ roll, while his 2006 outing Nashville found him applying his impassioned vocals to country-tinged fare.
It is, therefore, safe to say that, since his return, Burke hasn’t stayed in one
place for very long, and certainly no one could accuse him of reclaiming his
fame by repeatedly pouring over the same old ground.
In a sense, what Burke deftly has accomplished with his recent string of
albums is to remind the world of his stylistic range as a performer. After all,
nothing that was featured on any of these endeavors was truly new to his
repertoire, though he had slipped so far from view that he rarely was cited as
an influence on anyone. Once he completed his trilogy, however, he undeniably
was firmly back in the limelight. Yet, he now faced the difficult decision of
how to frame his next recording.
Not surprisingly, Burke uses Like a Fire to bring everything together.
For a moment, it works, too. The country-imbued essence of The Fall sits
comfortably next to the swampy blues of A Minute to Rest and a Second to Pray,
which in turn brushes ever so pleasantly against the jovial bounce of Ain’t
that Something. Yet, one is left with the nagging feeling that something is
missing.
Unfortunately, in creating Like a Fire, Burke and producer Steve
Jordan also chose to take a more modern approach to presenting the material,
though this, in and of itself, isn’t necessarily the entire problem with the
set. Despite the slick, adult contemporary arrangements that are employed
throughout Like a Fire, Burke’s voice remains in fine form, and he
delivers the songs on the endeavor as well as anyone possibly could. Unlike many
of today’s artists, Burke doesn’t attack the lyrics by adorning them with
ridiculously long streams of trills, notes, and other distractions. He sings
them sweetly and purely, elevating the emotional content with the subtle nuances
that are inherent in his vocal inflections. In fact, he frequently salvages what
could have been a rather drab outing by simply being himself. Surely, fans of 21st
century R&B-imbued pop could stand to see someone of his caliber infiltrate
their realm.
The bigger issue, however, is that Like a Fire falls prey to the same
forces that caused Burke’s career to veer off-track in the first place: To put
it simply, he was handed a batch of lesser songs to cover, and although he tried
to run with them, he can’t seem to escape their undertow. Eric Clapton, Ben
Harper, Keb’ Mo’, and Jesse Harris all wrote material specifically for the
endeavor, but their contributions unimaginatively adhere to clichés.
The title track, which was penned by Clapton, sounds like an inferior leftover
from Pilgrim, while Harper’s A Minute to Rest and a Second to Pray
scuttles a good groove with an arena-ready chorus that was bred for mass
consumption.
Sometimes the music on Like a Fire sounds great; at other moments, the
songs themselves erase the raw edge that Burke brings to the table. Ultimately,
it all comes dangerously close to feeling rather empty. Although the album won’t
entirely displease his flock of fans, they also will recognize that Burke is a
better performer than Like a Fire ever really allows him to be. 
Of Further Interest...
Al Green - The Definitive Greatest Hits
Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra - Ray Sings, Basie Swings
Otis Redding - Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Like a Fire is available
from Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
Click Here!
For UK orders, please
Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
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