Genre: soul
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: Proud Mary
Company: Bell
Catalog: Bell 6033
Year: 1969
Country/State: US
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: --
Available: SOLD
GEMM catalog ID: 5309
Price: SOLD
Like a lot of soul artists, by the late 1960s Solomon Burke's career was on a downward trajectory. He hadn't scored a major commercial hit in a couple of years and without hits his longstanding partnership with Atlantic Records had come to an abrupt end (adding to the irony, his final Atlantic single was entitled 'I Wish I Knew (How It Feels To Feel Free)').
photo from "Proud Mary" LP back cover
Dropped by Atlantic, Bell Records quickly stepped in with a contract though Burke's first came in the form of a enjoyable, but unexceptional single:
- 1969's 'Up Tight Good Woman' b/w 'I Can't Stop' (Bell catalog number 759)
In contrast Burke's sophomore release proved an unorthodox move. Burke certainly exhibited good tastes in his decision to cover Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Proud Mary' ('Proud Mary' b/w 'What Am I Living For' (Bell catalog 783)), though the fact the song was still on the pop charts made it a questionable marketing move. On the other hand Burke's personalized version of the song was simply spellbinding. Great sitar-ish guitar throughout. John Fogerty's comments (found on the liner notes for the supporting LP basically said it all:
"The first time I heard Solomon Burke sing 'Proud Mary' I was plain amazed. 2000 miles away this man had crawled right up inside my head to learn what 'Proud Mary' was all about. Sure it's great when someone sings your song - but when he understands it, you listen like it was the first time. Some times the older wine is the best."
With the single just missing the top-40 charts (it peaked at # 45), as was standard marketing procedure Bell executives agreed to finance a supporting album. In an inspired move Burke was shipped to Muscle Shoals' FAME studios where he was teamed with the cream of Muscle Shoals studio talent including Roger Hawkins and Eddie Hinton. Co-produced by Burke and Tamiko Jones (allowing a soul artist to produced himself was still a rarity) the cleverly-titled "Proud Mary" served to clearly demonstrate that Burke's patented mix of Gospel, soul and R&B remained in fine form. Offering up a mixture of popular hit covers, more obscure covers and one original the set was every bit as good as the cream of his work for Atlantic. The album's distinctive soul edge certainly didn't hurt (check out the killer Burke original 'How Big A Fool (Can a Fool Be)' or ' I Can't Stop (No No No)' which would have done Redding proud). 'Course the fact the man had a voice that would sound good singing a phone book listing helped the proceedings. Hard to pick standout performances, though my nods would go to his cover of Otis Redding's 'There Arms of Mine', a slightly countrified 'I'll Be Doggone' the killer ballad 'Don 't Wait Too Long' and perhaps best of all - Burke's own 'How Big A Fool (Can a Fool Be)' . Elsewhere Bell tapped the album for a follow-on single in the form of:
- 1969s 'That Lucky Old Sun' b/w 'How Big a Fool' (Bell catalog number 806)
"Proud Mary" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Proud
Mary (John Fogerty) - 3:17
2.)
These Arms of Mine (Otis Redding) - 2:54
3.)
I'll Be Doggone (William Robinson - Warren Moore - Marv Tarlin) -
2:56
4.)
How Big A Fool (Can a Fool Be) (Solomon Burke) - 2:15
5.)
(side 2)
1.) That
Lucky Old Sun (Beasley Smith - Haven Gillespie) - 3:00
2.)
Uptight Good Woman (Dan Penn - Spooner Oldham - Jimmy Johnson) -
2:42
3.)
I Can't Stop (No No No) (Dan Penn - Roger Hawkins) - 2:17
4.)
Please Send Me Someone To Love (Shirlee Kaplan) - 3:02
5.) What Am I Living For (Fred Day - Art Harris) - 2:55
Ironically by the time the LP was released (peaking at # 140), Bell had already dropped Burke. That didn't stop the label from tapping the album for a pair of follow-on non-LP singles:
- 1970's 'The Generation Of Revelations' b/w 'I'm Gonna Stay Right Here' (Bell catalog number 829)
- 1970's 'In The Ghetto' b/w 'God Knows I Love You' (Bell catalog number 891)
For anyone interested, Burke's late-1990s/early 2000s re-emergence includes an interesting website at:
http://www.thekingsolomonburke.com/
