Nashville

Nashville
Solomon Burke
Shout Factory

For thirty years Solomon Burke was an artist's artist, a few hits and a lot of respect without making the mainstream. Jerry Lee calls his new album Last Man Standing, a nod to the fact he's outlasted the rest of his Sun companions and in you could almost say the same of the King of Rock 'n' Soul. A less crowded living legends marketplace and the trend for taking those legends back to their roots has given him some of the recognition he never got in the 60s. The Joe Henry produced Don't Give Up on Me in 2002 hit us like a freight train, especially if you hadn't been paying attention (me) and were wondering where the real R&B had gone. The reliably pedestrian Don Was managed to stifle some of the magic on the follow up Make Do With What You've Got, although it has its moments.

Nashville is his new, hotly anticipated one. Produced by Buddy Miller in his lounge room and featuring a roots-country Ennead of Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, goddess Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Jim Lauderdale, Kevin Welch, Al Perkins.

When I say "hotly anticipated", I mean I named it album of the year months ago before it had even been recorded. I'm pleased I don't have to retract, merely amend to "Best Non-Dylan Album of the Year." It succeeds because it is unthinkable such a collaboration could go wrong. Buddy Miller + Emmylou + Solomon Burke is the reason Uncut's five star rating was invented and can inspire nothing but devotion from me. So the element of surprise is missing you might say. We smile that all's right with the world rather than because we've witnessed a breakout but make no mistake : this is top shelf, without question.

Burke actually had country hits back in the day so the collaboration is not as mismatched as it may seem to the uninitiated. On the very good blues concert doco Lightning in a Bottle he even tells the story of being booked to play a KKK show in the 1960s! The King of Rock 'n' Soul has a lot of stories like that, he's a larger than life character in more ways than one. His longstanding closeness to the genre is important because its not a gimmicky "this is my Country Album (and next I'll Do Jazz covers)" project. His voice has gravity and grace but also a slightly knotty edge that suits the country genre but is unmistakably soul. To chose a song from the end of the album first, I was pleased to see the duet with Emmylou was on the classic George and Tammy number "We're Gonna Hold On." Emmylou's image these days is very stately, a Princess Grace of Alt. Her last couple of solo albums have bled integrity and grandeur. Sublime, of course, but let's not forget she's an old fashioned girl hillbilly singer too and I like to see her lift up her skirts and play the role.

Tom T. Hall's "That's How I Got to Memphis" opens the disc in intimate acoustic style, it's country but Burke's occasionally soaring delivery is straight from Atlantic studios rather than Sun. Actually, as far as project albums go, I would love to hear Burke do more songs of Tom T.'s, one of country's great humanists. Any sorry souls still leery of the country flavour can enjoy the more upbeat numbers like "You're Gonna Take Me Back" and "Where Did the Money Go?", spirited Saturday night thumpers but I think it's probably the ballads which people will come back to. Gillian Welch is low key on "Valley of Tears" but it's a typically gorgeous song from her, with an old timey gospel feel. My only quibble was with "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger?" but only because it recalls too closely the Buddy Miller original. I think there is a slower version in there somewhere Solomon could have ripped the heart out of.

An album that lives up to its promise is refreshing, and listening to this group of music lovers do the business is a simple joy.