Soul legend Solomon Burke's latest album, a set of country songs titled Nashville, was released on September 26. I interviewed him by email on October 10.
What music are you listening to these days?
I'm listening to india.arie, Christina Aguilera, Emmylou Harris, and Gillian Welch. For the guys, I love Usher, Bruce Springsteen's latest CD, Alan Jackson, Eric Clapton. I also am enjoying the Foo Fighters, the Raconteurs, the Wreckers, and anything by Merle Haggard.
Who selected the songs for Nashville?
The songs were selected by [album producer] Buddy Miller, [executive producer] Shawn Amos, and me. We all listened to a ton of amazing songs — together, probably over 200 songs. There were certain songwriters whose points of view were important to interpret, in our minds, so that helped us narrow down the list and focus… and then just trying to see what shape the various combinations of songs took that would be a respectable body of work. It was really tough to let go of certain songs that I loved, but that's a part of the process.
You do Springsteen's "Ain't Got You" in a nearly bluegrass style, there's some nods to Billy Sherrill-style strings on "Atta Way To Go," and the rest of the album covers all the territory from honky-tonk to country blues to soul to gospel. (Yes, there's a question in here somewhere.) The arrangements are definitely a departure from what you've been doing recently, and (in the good way) definitely not what I would have expected. Who was in the driver's seat when deciding on arrangements?
Buddy Miller was very much the driver when it came to the arrangements. But the beauty of how Buddy works is that his arrangements left me a lot of room, and he brought together such amazing musicians that when I "turned left" on a song, the entire band turned left with me. It was a great feeling.
On the last album you covered a Hank Williams song, and this time around you cover a George Jones song. Between them, they're two of the most iconic singers of the last 50 years; how do you go about singing a song that belongs completely to someone else, and make sure it's not a mere tribute? How do you take the George out and put the Solomon in?
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