"This set is near essential to fans of Sam Cooke, despite the fact that it contains none of his gospel recordings for Specialty Records or any of the work from the final year of his career (owned by ABKCO Records). Scattered every few minutes across this four-disc collection are reminders of just how far ahead of all existing musical forms Cooke was, creating sounds that stretched the definitions of song genres as they were understood and created completely new categories. "You Send Me," which opens this set, was a genre-bending single in 1957, a new kind of R&B/pop music hybrid and one that quietly shook the foundations of the music business when it hit number one. The development of Cooke's writing and singing and his growing confidence and range culminate with disc four, which encompasses the "Night Beat" album and Cooke's live performance from the Harlem Square Club. The sound is extraordinary throughout, expansive, rich-textured, and vividly detailed." (Bruce Eder, Allmusic)
