This came out in 2005 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Soul legend Solomon Burke’s last disc Don’t Give Up on Me was hailed as a creative rebirth on par with Johnny Cash’s American Recordings and Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose.
But while Cash and Lynn clearly understood much of the credit had to go to their producers — Rick Rubin and Jack White, respectively — Burke doesn’t seem to have grasped how integral Joe Henry’s sparse, distinctive backdrops were to the success of Don’t Give Up.
So instead of reuniting with him, Burke hands the reins to hired gun populist Don Was for Make Do With What You Got, and gets mixed results. The problem isn’t Burke — although pushing 70, he’s still a vocal powerhouse who could sing tax law and turn it into a seductive, soulful ode. The problem is the once-inspired but now sorely overrated Was, who panders to Burke and listeners by surrounding him with generic Memphis-soul knockoffs cranked out with faceless precision by a slew of studio rats.
It’s likable, listenable, smooth and silky to be sure, but quite simply, Burke deserves better than predictable pap. And so do we. But until his next creative rebirth, we’ll just make do with Make Do.
