The big, brassy band that backs
Solomon Burke on this live set enhances, but never overshadows, his powerful vocals and God-given charisma. Opening with "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love," he gets the crowd in a festive mood before slinking into a strong three-song medley comprising "If You Need Me"/"Tonight's the Night"/"I Almost Lost My Mind." He displays his preaching skills on "Cruel World," and you can almost see the collection plate being passed. "Candy/Candy Rap" begins with a big band arrangement, the sound is bold and brassy, but then lightens with
Burke's "Candy Rap." He excels on "Got to Get You Off My Mind," another one of his hits from back-in-the-day. In fact, the only glaring omission from his King Solomon era is the bewitching "Somebody's Watching You." On the three or so blues tunes he does, if you close your eyes, you'll think it was a female singing, as he sings in a higher key on blues tunes.
Burke, a true character, closes this enjoyable performance with
Roy Brown's classic "Good Rockin' Tonight." ~ Andrew Hamilton