Solomon Burke: Music To Make Love By
Colin Escott, Chess Records, 1998
SOLOMON BURKE'S ultimate triumph is that he's almost as great as he says he is, and has almost accomplished everything he says he has. He still possesses one of the most thrilling voices in Rhythm 'n' Blues, but there's more. He has the presence of a legend. When he tells you that he invented soul music, you believe him. This is, after all, "Solomon the Boy Wonder" preacher, who had his own radio ministry at age nine, and his own church, Solomon's Temple--The House Of God For All People, before that. He is the father of 21 children, whose own coming into the world was foretold in his grandmother's dream. A self-mythologiser of epic proportions, a man of epic proportions. There has never been anyone remotely comparable.
Total word count of piece: 1105