Essential work from the legendary Solomon Burke – one of the greatest singers to record for Atlantic Records during the 60s – and an artist we'd put right up there next to Aretha Franklin or Otis Redding! Like both of those giants, Solomon has a style that's completely his own – almost a blueprint for deep soul, southern soul, and 60s soul all together at once – never captured as well or as perfectly as during the mid 60s years he recorded for Atlantic! There's nobody like Solomon Burke during these Atlantic years – a hard-edged singer who was virtually inventing deep soul at the time – taking currents from earlier R&B years, and folding them with a brash, bold energy that was completely heartfelt – and which drew on the same sort of styles that southern soul singers would make their own a few years later – as you'll see by the dates here, Burke predates work by Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, and Wilson Pickett. The package features 3CDS, and a massive 79 tracks in all – the biggest collection of Burke's work for Atlantic that we've ever seen – with tracks that include "I'm Hanging Up My Heart For You", "Baby", "Gotta Travel On", "Peepin", "Yes I Do", "The Price", "You're Good For Me", "Beautiful Brown Eyes", "When She Touches Me", "Keep Lookin", "Woman How Do You Make Me Love You Like I Do", "Presents For Christmas", "What'd I Say", "Get Out Of My Life Woman", "This Little Ring", "It's All Right", "How Many Times", "Cry To Me", "Hard Ain't It Hard", "Mountain Of Pride", "I Feel A Sin Coming On", and lots lots more! A fantastic set – all 6 of Solomon's albums for Atlantic, plus non-LP cuts recorded for the label. ~ Dusty Groove
A crackling sharp album from trumpeter Eddie Henderson – a set that's got Eddie blowing in some of the more swinging, soulful sides of his spectrum – with support from an excellent group who really keep things moving! There's a tight rhythm trio at the core – Kenny Barron on piano, Gerald Cannon on bass, and Mike Clark on drums – and Barron's ability to roll out rich lines full of feeling really helps set the tone for the set – while alto player Donald Harrison joins Eddie up top, really dealing out some great moments next to the chromatic quality of Henderson's horn. Titles include "Cook's Bay", "By Any Means", "Flight Path", "Shuffle & Deal", "Burnin", "Boom", and "God Bless The Child". ~ Dusty Groove
A wonderful record from pianist Isaiah Thompson – a player who wins us over even more than usual with this set of tracks from the pen of Buddy Montgomery! Most folks know Buddy as the lesser-known bassist brother of Wes Montgomery – part of the original Montgomery Brothers group – but Buddy's also got a hell of an ear for a tune, as the batch of material here will attest – all songs taken in wonderful new directions by Isaiah and his trio! Philip Norris handles the bass, with the sort of strong, forward sounds that Buddy would love – and Willie Jones III is on drums, and gets a bit of help from Daniel Sadownick on percussion – but it's clear that the real vision here is that of Thompson, whose arrangements are as fresh as his deft, blocky style on the keys – almost a revision of older soul jazz modes, but in a really personal way – on titles that include "Muchismo", "Hob Nob With Brother Bob", "Budini", "Aki's Blues", "Here Again", "1000 Rainbows", and "Ruffin It". ~ Dusty Groove
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