Music
Nashville, Solomon Burke (Shout! Factory), Playing Monday, 25th at the Belcourt
When Solomon Burke starts into Tom T. Hall’s “That’s How I Got to Memphis” to open his new album Nashville, he straddles the link between R&B and country, two genres that evoke universal truths through detailed scenes about specific emotional responses to life and love.
But when he stretches out the word “whenever” in the first stanza, taking the middle vowel and pushing it skyward in a cry of pain, he illuminates the differences between soul and country. In the hundreds of versions of Hall’s classic about a man searching for a lover who ran without explanation, country singers have often expressed a quiet determination that sublimates the subject’s desperation. But Burke begins with a cry of anguish, his pain obvious as he asks strangers if they’ve seen his woman. It’s a stunning performance, one that recalls how this great soul pioneer brought the church to pop music when he started recording in the ’50s.
Country music isn’t a lark for Burke. Many of his early ’60s R&B hits—“Just Out of Reach (of My Two Empty Arms),” “Down in the Valley,” “I Really Don’t Want to Know” and “He’ll Have to Go”—come from the country catalog. While his album’s title suggests a record of Music Row standards, the collection is broader than that. Working with producer Buddy Miller, Burke combines classic country, Americana and fired-up string-band blues in a highly personal fashion.
Burke met Miller at last year’s Americana Music Conference, and an onstage collaboration led to the album, which includes his first-ever duets, pairing with Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, Gillian Welch and, in a stunning ballad, Patty Griffin. He also records tunes by Kevin Welch, Jim Lauderdale, Paul Kennerley and The Wrights.
For Burke, it’s both a return to an early love and, as he puts it, a dream come true. “As a kid you always have dreams about things you want to do, and one of my dreams was to be a cowboy,” he says. “Now I got my chance.”
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Scene: Why Nashville?
Solomon Burke: This record is really about an incredible guy, Buddy Miller, and the musicians he chose. I don’t think it can be compared to anything I’ve done. It was one of the best experiences of my life.
Scene: That comes through in the music.
SB: You know, I’ve worked with great musicians before, people with high prestige. But when you come together with a family of people who already love each other, and they invite you in and say, “Let’s have fun”—well, you have a chance to do something special.
Scene: You can hear the spontaneity, especially on [Bruce Springsteen’s] “Ain’t Got You.” That’s a hoedown.
SB: We started that song with just Buddy on guitar, just two guys to see how it felt. Next thing you know, everybody there is joining in. I just started going hog wild, caught up in the feeling. That’s what you look for, that breakthrough. It was like a surprise party. I’d never had that happen in 50 years of music.
Scene: You’re kidding? You’ve never recorded a song without plotting it out?
SB: Not like this! It was the whole setting. We were in Buddy’s home! There was the couch, there was the chair, there’s the kitchen over there. His studio is in his home. I don’t know how he does it. I kept waiting for someone to hit a switch and the walls to go up, the shutters to come down. But it never changed. Birds were singing, trucks were driving by. Buddy’s wife, Julie, greeted me with open arms. Musicians came in like neighbors. They brought muffins! (laughs hard). Only they’d say, “Hi, I’m Emmylou Harris.” I’d say, “No you’re not!” (laughs even harder). I want to tell you, she was so real. The whole week was just so dad-gum real and fun and educational. I learned so much!
Scene: You’re telling me the great Solomon Burke still has something to learn about music?
SB: Oh, we all do. To have an experience like I had in Nashville, and to see that professional musicians could really be people and put their heart and soul into their craft so naturally...man. Nobody had to say, “Let me go get a drink” or “Let me get a hit off this joint.” We had barbecue and chicken, and we had hugs and real from-the-heart talking, and we had a house full of love and music. We were excited to play music. I’m just so happy I got to experience that. Everyone should feel it like this. But you know about that, man—you’re in Nashville.
Scene: I hate to tell you this, but not all Nashville sessions go down like yours did.
SB: Oh man, don’t tell me that! I’m glad I caught the right boat!