Southern Jazz Music

If you are a fan of close vocal harmony singing, you owe it to yourself to purchase this 2-CD set to hear this group at the height of its power. You will hear why they were much loved as performers in live concerts and why other countries, especially England, Canada, and Sweden fell in love with them. The vocals are lush, elegant, and tight, and show the Deep River Boys' unmistakeable stamp on each tune. No wonder they were selected as part of the program for a Royal Perfromance for the Queen of England in November 1952; no wonder they were asked to perform for President Eisenhower in 1955 at the White House. It's hard for me to pick highlights because the whole thing is one big highlight. Lead singer and baritone Harry Douglass' voice is like butter throughout (he is on every cut.) Edward Ware's smoky bass undergirds a good thirty-five songs, and Carter Wilson's's first tenor (and falsetto) can ring out like a clarion call. Ok I said I was not going to pick highlights and I won't, BUT I will pick uniqueness--listen to "Eli Eli", lugubrious and showing the Deep's connection to the spirituals, and to "Adam Never Had No Mammy," it could cause tears to well up in your eyes because of the topic, gorgeously sung. Finally, praise must be heaped on the person(s) who went back into the EMI/HMV vaults, found these masters, and decided they must be reissued on CD. A great service has been done for fans of this kind of music everywhere.

What a great find! As I was browsing last May I put their name in and found that this rerelease was about to appear. The voices and rythm of these performers are unmatched for their genre. Performing through Europe in the fifties they were well liked and appreciated for their musicality and depth of knowledge of the American Spirituals as well as popular songs.
Where are they now?

This old guy definitely can sing. However, this CD miss the freshness and intensity of the predesessor, his comeback CD Don't Give Up On Me

There is nothing like "Old School.recording Artist to make a play to renew real music.

You can teach a bear to dance, but don't expect him to enjoy it or look good doing it. It's hard to believe after the excellent "Don't Give Up on Me" (5 stars), anyone could make a Solomon Burke CD this bad. From the first notes of the first cut, I said to myself "Oh no". First there's the terrible mismatch of the material/arrangements which has Solomon's wonderful voice stretched to the breaking point on virtually every cut. Then there's the uninspired musicianship of the backing instumentals. And finally, even the back-up singers are often shrill and seldom mellow. This is my first review for Amazon & I'm doing it so that those who loved "Don't Give Up on Me" won't make the same mistake I did & buy "Make Do with What You've Got". If you bought this one first, don't give up on Solomon, just back up in time a little, or a lot.

The errors on "Make Do With What You Got" start with Don Was and Ray Parker Jr. Was' production and Ray's guitar are precisely the kind of abominations that may have prompted Burke to give such an apologetic title to this CD. Could no one more suitable for the job be found? Why pair up the guys who gave us "Walk The Dinosaur" and the Ghostbusters theme song with the guy who gave us "Got To Get You Off Of My Mind"? It makes no sense whatsoever.

"Make Do With What You Got" is a huge let down especially when one considers the other two CDs that bookend this one - the very good "Don't Give Up On Me" (which contains a much better reworking of a Van Morrison song than this CD does - namely "Fast Train") and the excellent "Nashville", which enjoys extraordinary production values, a smoking band and a commanding Burke.

"Make Do" is middling Burke. Barely passable actually, saved only by the fact that it is Burke singing despite Ray Parker Jr's constant clam blowing and Was' white bread production.

Solomon Burke sings to your soul. You don't just hear his music, you feel it with everything in you as he bares his soul to you. He sings from his heart with so much raw emotion you can't help being touched at a level few others have reached. From the 60's to his new CD nothing has changed and that is why he remains the King.

I loved the variety of selections on this CD. All the uplifting songs are very well done, and I highly recommend this collection.