Sam Cooke - Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964
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Free Music Notes for Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964
Free Music Review: Soulful Songs And Stories Cooked Up On Essential Hits Set
Hit: 5 Stars
This 30-song, one disc collection is Sam Cooke's most lovingly presented and essential single disc released to date. It builds on his 2LP "Man and His Music," itself a revelation when released in the mid-1980s. This set tops it due to remastered sound (this CD has a layer playable in Sony's SACD format), and R&B scholar/author Peter Guralnick's detailed liner notes. Guralnick, author of several books on Southern rock and soul, examines the roots of all 30 songs, performers backing and dueting with Cooke, his inspirations for writing and singing them.This is important because Sam Cooke's songwriting and storytelling skills are as much his legacy as his Gospel music beginnings, his mysterious, untimely 1964 murder, and his influence on Steve Perry (whose "Lovin' Touchin', Squeezin" was a Cooke tribute of sorts), Rod Stewart (who claimed he listened only to Cooke records for two whole years as a teen), Terrence Trent D'Arby and a generation's rock and R&B singers.
Cooke's chart hits are here, except for the relatively minor "Soothe Me" and "Frankie & Johnny." You get his gentle, intricate vocal trills on his first singles for the Keen in the 1950s (1957's #1 "You Send Me," "Wonderful World," "Cupid"). You get his rethinks of country, blues, even pop standards ("Tennessee Waltz" becomes a gospel rave up; "Little Red Rooster" a slow churn blues with a teenage Billy Preston's extra cheesy organ, "Summertime" a vocal showcase with offbeat rhythm and guitar). Finally, you get Cooke's rollicking humor and detailed lyrics on his dance hits ("Shake," the dancers' garb and moves in "Twistin' the Night Away," the hip DJ requests in "Havin' A Party.")
Guralnick refers often to Cooke's phrasing, which found soul and poetry approximating daily speech. On his greatest artistic achievement, 1964's finale "A Change is Gonna Come," Cooke tops even himself. He takes Bob Dylan's lyrical challenge in "Blowin' In The Wind" (which Cooke admired for being written and performed as pop by whites) and, through hopeful words sung as near-weeping laments, he approximates the timbre and granduer of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech given less than a year before.
"Portrait" set is bookended with Cooke leading Gospel's legendary Soul Stirrers for two songs. They not only define soul's gospel roots but showed Cooke sang a great Bible story as easily as from a cha-cha crowded dance floor, highway prison road gang, or lonely room. For more, reach for his dark, mellow "Night Beat" or the "Man Who Invented Soul" multi-disc. Ultimately, "Portrait" underrates itself; it's more like a small, soulful slice-of=life gallery from one of music's seminal artists.
Free Music Review: Excellent, varied one-disc compilation with hits and deeper cuts
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm not usually a fan of compilations and greatest hit records--I'm a big believer that hits generally sound better in their original environment, an album, where they sit alongside other tracks that show an artist's range and are sequenced to sound good together as a cohesive collection of tunes. The primary exception to my avoidance of compilations is with artists like Sam Cooke, who was basically a hit machine, singing and writing songs designed to be released as singles and making music that was less focused on producing great long-playing records. As a compilation of Cooke tunes, Portrait of a Legend is a great showcase of both Cooke's hits AND lots of songs that show his broad range as a songwriter and performer.
Anybody familiar with Sam Cooke knows the large number of classic songs he composed and sang--songs like "You Send Me," "(What A) Wonderful World," "Chain Gang," "Twistin' the Night Away," and the moving "A Change is Gonna Come." The simple fact that this disc contains all of these songs makes it worth picking up--everyone should have these wonderfully written and soulfully-sung hits as part of their collection.
What makes this disc a great find is that it also includes many other Sam Cooke songs that weren't huge hits but still deserve to be heard. Gospel tunes like "Touch the Hem of His Garment" and "Jesus Gave Me Water" show Cooke's stylistic range was great and also illuminate a genre that contributed to the emerging "soul" genre that Cooke had such a huge hand in creating. Other tunes like "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons," "Good Times" and "Tennessee Waltz" show that Cooke could put out plenty of grade-A material that may not have gained hit-status, but is essential nonetheless. "Tennessee Waltz" in particular is a great example of Cooke soul-izing a traditionally country tune--man, he was talented.
Throughout, Cooke's voice sounds as crystal clear, smooth, and achingly soulful as we all have come to expect. The songwriting, as I already mentioned, proves Cooke could produce solid material consistently and shows why he was covered and idolized not only by other soul artists like Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding but also by other rock acts like The Band. All this, and the liner notes have great info for each track written by a Sam Cooke biographer. This compilation has 30 tracks on 1 disc, so not only does it add some of soul's most important songs and one of its most (if not THE most) famous voices to your collection--it's cheap too!
Free Music Review: 5 Star Magic from the best voice ever but read before buying
Hit: 5 Stars
What can I say about one of the most inspiring/soothing singers of all time? Sam Cooke possessed the sweetest voice in soul, and his elegant vocal style inspired almost every singer worth his nickle. He was also a terrific songwriter, and the string of hits created prior to his death in 1964 was unrivaled.I can hear this CD non-stop for days, weeks,.... It should be mandatory for all singers to listen to this release as it showcases a singer whose delivery was so elegant and did not have to go through vocal gymnastics to bring it home. It did not matter whether he was singing traditional pop, soul, gospel, or (you name it), as it all came back to Sam's voice and elegant delivery.
This collection has all the songs, including the indispensible "A Change Is Gonna Come". Sam's version continues to be THE definitive version and any collection that overlooks it should be banned. As you can imagine I give this my highest recommendation. Also worth noting this release has been remastered to blow away all previous efforts and unlike the previous single CD greatest hits collection, this one has an informative insert that tells us a little bit about the history of the songs.
NOTE: This state-of-the-art digital audio release titled is a magical 31-track greatest hits release that has been replaced the already amazing "The Man And His Music," a 28 greatest hits collection released in the 1980s. There is one downside to the CD as it is a hybrid with SACD capability, so that it will play in regular CD players and those with the SADC technology. The only problem lies in that, like other hybrid SACDs you cannot make a personal copy or grab any of the songs to put in a personal mix. For me that is a huge downside as I make lots of mixes to reflect different moods and favorite all time songs; notwithstanding if you just plan on listening to it and don't mind that you won't be able to pick and choose songs to make a mix, there is no better choice than this release.
During 2003 and now I've found myself listening to the new releases by Al Green and Ron Isley as well as this release, and I am reminded that new artists have it really hard as Sam and others raised the bar so high and so early that it makes it virtually impossible for anyone to make better sounding music. There are some out there who show much promise and I am always trying to support them, but Sam is Sam and God bless him.
Free Music Review: Comprehensive anthology of this legendary soul artist.
Hit: 5 Stars
Because he died at such a young age we really only caught a glimpse of the enormous talent of Sam Cooke. Sam began his career as a gospel singer and spent six years years as lead singer of the legendary gospel group The Soul Stirrers. But in 1957, Sam Cooke decided to pursue a solo career and signed a recording contract with Keen records. Within a very short period of time Sam would notch his first big hit with a tune called "You Send Me". The record would go all the way to #1 and a major star was born. "Sam Cooke: Portrait of A Legend 1951-1964" is probably the most comprehensive Sam Cooke anthology issued to date. You will quickly discover why Sam Cooke is one of the most revered singers in the history of rock and roll and why he was one of the very first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"Sam Cooke: Portrait of A Legend 1951-1964" offers up a remarkable total of 30 of Sam's biggest hits and most memorable recordings. Sam Cooke was an extremely versatile vocalist who was just as comfortable singing a ballad as he was belting out a rock and roll or gospel number, Over the years Sam Cooke would place more than 40 tunes on the Billboard Hot 100.
You will find all of his major hits in this collection including his monster 1962 hit "Chain Gang", "Twistin' The Night Away", and "Another Saturday Night". One of my favorite Sam Cooke records is a tune called "Win Your Love For Me" from back in 1958. Might I also recommend such terrific pop classics as "Having A Party" and "Only Sixteen" which are both included here as well.
"Portrait of A Legend 1951-1964" also offers you a chance to sample Sam as a gospel singer. Be sure to check out both "Touch The Hem of His Garment" and "Jesus Gave Me Water". But if I had to single out my very favorite Sam Cooke recording I would have to choose his moving 1965 recording of "A Change Is Gonna Come". I think many Sam Cooke fans would agree that this just might be his finest vocal performance ever.
Collectors will appreciate the fact that "Sam Cooke: Portrait of A Legend 1951-1964" includes some outstanding liner notes by Peter Guralnick. And while there are several outstanding Sam Cooke collections available in my judgement this is clearly the best of the bunch. Very highly recommended!
Free Music Review: Excellent Compilation of a Real Legend's Body of Work
Hit: 5 Stars
The word legend is tossed around too casually today. It seems to be applied in liberal doses even to one-hit wonders. Sam Cooke, and his body of exquisite work, is one performer truly deserving of the title legend. This CD, "Sam Cooke, Portrait of a Legend" does a fine job in putting the best of Sam in one CD.
There are quite a few Sam Cooke compilations out there but I think this one does as good a job as any in actually providing a portrait that extends beyond just his better known hits. Cooke, the son of a preacher and like many of his fellow 'soul-singers' started his career in Gospel. Cooke's gospel roots are evident in many of his great hits, including Bring it on Home to Me and A Change is Gonna Come. However, most Cooke compilations do not contain selections of his time as a lead singer with the Soul Stirrers, a Gospel Group.
This CD starts off with Touch the Hem of His Garment. This beautiful Gospel tune, written by Cooke, provides a nice entry point for the popular hits that follow. Those hits, including You Send Me, Only Sixteen, Shake, Twistin the Night Away, and Another Saturday Night are included in the compilation.
Although his upbeat tunes remain fresh and enjoyable, I think Cooke is at his best when he reaches down and evokes the more somber notes, when the blues begin to mix in with his soul. His Sad Mood remains a beautifully moving piece. Equally compelling is Bring it on Home to Me. His long time friend Lou Rawls provides the harmony and the call and refrain of the song evoke Cooke's earlier gospel work.
Equally stunning is Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come. Written in 1964 at the height of the civil rights movement and deeply influenced by Dylan's Blowin in the Wind, A Change if Gonna Come always leaves me feeling that this song represents the innermost part of Cooke's soul.
The CD ends with a return to Cooke's gospel roots, Jesus Gave Me Water. This closing track, by returning us to Sam's gospel beginnings is a fitting conclusion to the CD.
The CD contains excellent liner notes prepared by peter Guralnick. Guralnick is writing a biography of Cooke and these notes reflect his deep interest in the man and his music.
This is an excellent compilation. It does Cooke proud.