"This remastered and essential 2CD edition gathers all the singles (A & B sides) Sam Cooke made as a leader for different labels, such as Specialty, Keen, SAR and RCA-Victor, between 1956 and 1962. It contains the finest moments and mostcelebrated songs of his career. Unlike his albums, which to a large extent were meant for an adult audience, Cooke’s singles were oriented towards teenagers and chart success. His legacy represents a fundamental cornerstone of soul, R&B and gospel. All of these fabulous tracks continue to stand the test of time. There’s no better proof of Sam Cooke’s genius than these soulful, joyous, exuberant, stylish and passionate recordings." (jazzmessengers)
"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)
"This 23-song rarities compilation, which encompasses the final year of his recording career. This was a period in which he explored several promising musical directions. Listeners won't find his most popular songs here, a result of the split control of his catalog between RCA and ABKCO, but they will find his most important and influential songs. Represented here is his foray into a New Orleans sound, on "Basin Street Blues" etc., which he'd never explored before as well as his poignant recording of "The Riddle Song", which was a way of his coming to terms musically with the death of his son; and "Good Times", the somber-toned party song that the Rolling Stones chose to cover, and the equally pensive and compelling "Another Saturday Night". But they pale next to "Shake", which embodied a harder, more visceral soul sound than Cooke had ever embraced before; and "A Change Is Gonna Come". The latter, written by Cooke in the wake of his hearing Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind"." (Bruce Eder, Allmusic)
Heerlijk opgewonden live-opnamen met een hoorbaar opgezweept publiek. Cooke geeft ze fraai gezongen versies van o.a. 'Chain Gang', 'Cupid', 'Bring it On Home To Me'.
"The last of his studio albums released in his lifetime, this album offers a lot of superb material, pointing in several directions. The central number is, the earth-shattering "A Change Is Gonna Come," with its soaring gospel sound and the most elaborate production of any song in Cooke's output. The rousing though less substantial title track also came out of a gospel tradition, as does Cooke's treatment of "Tennessee Waltz," which is one of his finest pop adaptations. "Falling in Love" was the work of Harold Battiste, an old friend of Cooke's who had recently re-entered his orbit and was partly responsible for the New Orleans sound that was evident on "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day" and "Meet Me at Mary's Place." And then there's "Good Times," a bittersweet, introspective party number. This was the first album that Cooke recorded under his new contract, which gave him greater freedom in choosing repertory and sidemen, and so it offered a lot of pent-up emotional and musical expression." (Bruce Eder, Allmusic)
After-midnight plaat van de man die soul zo ongeveer uitvond. Een zeker voor zijn doen sober geinstrumenteerde plaat, die z'n stem alle ruimte geeft om te vlammen. Verschenen in 1963, een jaar voor z'n dood.
"Uit 1959. Sam trekt de van Holiday bekende stukken binnenstebuiten en interpreteert ze op adembenemende wijze. Een van de weinige keren dat hij tijdens studio-opnamen aan het strakke pop-keurslijf kan ontsnappen en zich helemaal geeft." (AMG)
"For decades, this was a frustrating record. It captured Cooke in excellent voice, it just wasn't really a "soul" album, except perhaps in the tamest possible definition. Playing to an upscale, largely white supper-club audience, in a very conservatively run venue, Cooke toned down his performance and chose the safest material with which he could still be comfortable, like "The Best Things in Life Are Free," "Bill Bailey," and "When I Fall in Love". True, his renditions may be the versions of any of those songs that any R&B fan will like best, but they always seemed a poor substitute for what's not here - not just the songs that he didn't do, but the intense, sweaty presentation. The release of "Live At The Harlem Square Club" solved that problem, giving us a real Sam Cooke concert. And so "Sam Cooke At The Copa" became much more valuable as a representative of that other side of Cooke's sound and career. So paired with "Live At The Harlem Square Club", it is an irreplaceable document." (Bruce Eder, Allmusic)
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