by Andrew Hamilton
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.&