Solomon Burke Got To Get You Off My Mind & Other Hits CD

Got to Get You Off My Mind and Other Hits is a no-frills budget collection of Solomon Burke's music. The Southern soul shouter had many hits in the mid-'60s for Atlantic and a few of them are here: "Cry to Me," "If You Need Me," and the rollicking "Got to Get You Off My Mind." The rest of the disc is made up mostly of heartbroken ballads like "Someone Is Watching" and "Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)," and with a few strutting soul romps like "You're Good for Me" and "Down in the Valley." The songs on the disc are all great, but since it omits perhaps his most well-known song, "Everybody Needs Somebody," it can't really be considered a good purchase for anyone who wants to get something even approaching a complete picture of Burke's work. For someone who just wants a fleeting glimpse, it works just fine. ~ Tim Sendra

With Solomon Burke enjoying a richly deserved post-millennial comeback thanks to his well-received albums Don't Give Up On Me and Make Do With What You Got, some recent converts to the King of Rock & Soul might be in need of a crash course in his classic sides of the 1960s, which doubtless prompted the release of this budget-priced compilation. Featuring ten tracks from Burke's tenure at Atlantic Records, Got to Get You Off My Mind features a few of Burke's better-known tunes (most notably "Cry to Me," "Goodbye Baby [Baby Goodbye]," and the title cut) as well as some equally impressive lesser-known songs from his salad days, though the set manages to skip Burke's two biggest hits, "Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms)" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love." The mastering sounds good and there isn't a single dud track on this album, and casual listeners curious about Burke's Atlantic sides could do worse than to pick this up. But those who think they might ever want to go deeper into Burke's catalog are advised to pony up a few more bucks and get Rhino's superior The Very Best of Solomon Burke or the excellent double-disc collection Home in Your Heart: The Best of Solomon Burke. ~ Mark Deming