This cd has two "sunny" sides.
- All the material is performed with an uncommon soulfull sincerity.
- The songs are in fact beautifully produced with very gifted musicians.
There are no drawbacks with this cd. Just press "play" and "repeat".
I saw Solomon Burke live at the North Sea Jazz Festival. It was an impressive first encounter with this remarkable man.
I recommend the DVD of his concert at the NSJ festival to everyone.

THIS CD IS GREAT IF YOU HAVEN'T PURCHASED IT SHAME ON YOU THIS IS BY FAR HIS BEST WORK YET. MR. BURKE DID RECEIVE A GRAMMY FOR THIS PROJECT WHICH IS A LONGTIME COMING TO HIM!

One of the best records i have ever heard hands down. This one ranks up there with some of the best ever. As for Solomon's voice it is better than ever, and the songs are all top notch.

I really wanted to like this CD, but I found it to be nearly unplayable. Burke's vocals are fine - but the production! I don't know how it got out of the studio with that mix - it's muddy and the background singers and band sound as veiled and muted as though I were hearing them through a closed door. The first time I played it I felt the disc had to be defectve - I cleaned and replayed it all the way through and came to the conclusion it was just a lousy production. I didn't play it for another 6 to 8 weeks thinking for some reason I would "come around" but, alas, I ended up trading it in on another CD at a local retailer. Too bad!

Solomon Burke sounds as good as he did in the last century. Maybe even better. The title track, "Don't Give Up on Me", is an excellent example of the timelessness of great Soul Music. This song is also a perfect venue to showcase Burke's formidable vocal range. I was hooked early on, when during his pleadin' & beggin' he slips into an effortless falsetto worthy of singers less than half his age.

The tunes from Van Morrison, "Fast Train" and "Only a Dream" also provide Burke with ample opportunity to sing from his soul.
"Flesh and Blood" is an interesting Dark Blues psychedellica. Like something right out of the late 60's at The Fillmore with a light show in the background. On "Diamond In Your Mind", Burke does Tom Waits better than Waits himself.

Brian Wilson's "Soul Searchin'" is a catchy tune, but a bit too lite for my taste. Nevertheless, Burke seems to have some fun with it--as he did with the Dylan song, "Stepchild". "The Judgement" by Elvis Costello is a terrible song that Solomon Burke couldn't even resurrect. I edited it right out and wondered why Joe Henry didn't do the same.

"None of Us Are Free" is a powerful song with a message that most who rule the world still don't get. With help from the Blind Boys of Alabama, Burke is just the person to send it out again.

Joe Henry has succeded in producing an album of Real Music and I appreciate the no-frills live session. Critics of the mix should listen to some of the later Stax Volt sessions for an example of how it sounds when you turn up the music at the expense of the vocals.

Finally, with all due respect to the songwriters who have contibuted to this album, the masterful Solomon Burke certainly doesn't need their celebrity to sell his albums. Solomon Burke's singing is reason enough to buy this cd.