Listen to the Stories

It is a country record featuring duets with Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Patty Loveless. Guest vocals also by Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Gale West, and Regina and Ann McCrary. Players include Sam Bush, Al Perkins, Kenny Vaughan, Larry Campbell, Mickey Raphael, Kevin Welch, Paul Kennerley, Jim Lauderdale, Bryan Owings, Brady Blade, Phil Madeira, Byron House, Garry Tallent, and Chris Donohue.

Yikes. Solomon Burke's new album, produced by Buddy Miller. If that line up doesn't stir something deep, you are lost. I mentioned it before, here is the proof:



And some choice quotes from Solomon's website:

“After having my first country hit in 1960, I’ve always had a special desire to do a country album,” says Burke. “Really, it’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a kid. I loved Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, Herb Jeffries – one of the first black cowboys. When I heard Charlie Pride I was just blown away. But after we did four country songs for Atlantic, Jerry Wexler said ‘We’ve got to stop that, got to get you back in R&B.’ I’m trying to ride a horse and they were trying to put me in a Cadillac! So to connect these new songs with the songs of my past, it’s really a circle I’m completing.”

Once upon a time, Charlie Parker was asked by a shocked fan why he liked country music. “Listen to the stories,” he replied. Solomon Burke, who describes NASHVILLE as “a reunion of heart, mind, and spirit,” echoes that sentiment. “The songs tell a powerful story, and these stories need telling in these times,” he says. “Listen to them two or three times and you really start to understand.

This will have to be a disaster not to be be the album of the year.