I Got To Tell It / Love's Street And Fool's Road
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Album Summary
Released in 1971 on MGM Records, "I Got To Tell It / Love's Street And Fool's Road" stands as a testament to Solomon Burke's unshakeable artistry during a time when soul music was shifting beneath everyone's feet. The King of Rock 'n' Soul — a man who could make the walls of any room feel like the inside of a church — brought that same deep gospel fire to this MGM outing, where the label was working to situate his mighty voice within the evolving soul and R&B landscape of the early seventies. It may not have had the full machinery of his classic Atlantic years behind it, but Solomon Burke never needed much more than a microphone and a feeling to make something real.
Reception
- The album reflected the modest commercial performance typical of Burke's early 1970s MGM catalog, which never quite replicated the chart successes of his legendary Atlantic Records period.
- Critical ears of the era recognized Burke's vocal authority as undimmed, even as the album occupied a quieter commercial space than his earlier landmark recordings.
Significance
- This album is a living document of the soul-gospel fusion that was Burke's birthright — a man raised in the church, singing like the spirit never left, no matter what label logo was on the record sleeve.
- Released during one of soul music's great transitional moments, the record captures Burke navigating the early seventies with the same emotional depth and conviction that made him a founding giant of the entire genre.
- The two-track release reflects the single-driven market strategies of the era, showcasing Burke's ability to deliver maximum soul in a focused, concentrated form.
Tracklist
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A I Got To Tell It —
3:30
-
B Love's Street And Fool's Road —
3:10
Artist Details
Solomon Burke was one of the true architects of soul music, a big man with an even bigger voice who came up out of Philadelphia in the late 1950s and early 1960s, blending the fire of the church with the grit of the blues and the sweetness of country to create something that hit you right in the chest every single time. Recording for Atlantic Records and working alongside the legendary Bert Berns, Burke crafted stone classics like Cry to Me, Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, and Got to Get You Off My Mind, earning him the title of King of Rock and Soul and laying down the very foundation that artists like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett would build their careers upon. His ability to preach, to plead, and to pour every ounce of human emotion into a song made him one of the most powerful live performers of his generation, and his influence stretches far and wide across decades of popular music, from the Rolling Stones covering his material to a late-career masterpiece on Fat Possum Records in 2002 that reminded the whole world just how untouchable Solomon Burke truly was.
