The Man and His Music (CD - 1986)
UPC: 00078635712728
As low as $9.89 from Alibris
Artist: Sam Cooke Label: RCA Records (USA) Genre: R&B - Soul
Album Description: 2 LPs and cassettes on 1 CD. Digitally remastered.Personnel: Sam Cooke (vocals).When this 28-song compilation (two LPs/one CD) originally appeared, it was the first serious exploration of Sam Cooke's catalog ever done. What's more, a lot of care went into the selection... read more 2 LPs and cassettes on 1 CD. Digitally remastered. Personnel: Sam Cooke (vocals). When this 28-song compilation (two LPs/one CD) originally appeared, it was the first serious exploration of Sam Cooke's catalog ever done. What's more, a lot of care went into the selection, if not the packaging -- despite the fact that it has no annotation, or even release dates on its 28 songs, The Man and His Music is still the only comprehensive single-volume collection of the hits and highlights of Cooke's career from the mid-'50s to his last sides in 1964. What's more, it's out of print, and it is likely to be the last such compilation that we'll ever see, because in the years since its release, the ownership of Cooke's post-1963 sides (comprising his most advanced and ambitious soul recordings) shifted from RCA to ABKCO, and the chances are next to non-existent that either company will ever license its portion of Cooke's catalog to the other. There are better-sounding collections and better-annotated collections, to be sure, and fuller collections -- in 2000, RCA issued The Man Who Invented Soul, a four-CD that goes deeper into Cooke's output from 1958 through 1963; and in 2002, ABKCO issued Keep Movin' On, a single-disc compilation covering Cooke's 1964 sides, including his final hits. But The Man and His Music is the only Sam Cooke compilation that covers all of the major phases of his career, from his gospel work with the Soul Stirrers through all of the early pop hits and his move into soul music, culminating with his final classic soul sides. The Soul Stirrers' classic "Touch the Hem of His Garment" slides effortlessly into and through sides like "You Send Me" and "Chain Gang," to the early soul numbers like "Nothing Can Change This Love," "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day," and the achingly beautiful "Just for You," to "Having a Party" and the wrenching balladry of "Sad Mood," and through to the transcendent final sides, the rousing "Shake" and the Civil Rights ode "A Change Is Gonna Come" (the latter showing up for the first time in decades, and the first of only two times on CD, in its full-length version). There are better collections with all of these songs and more on them, but none handier than this in presenting every facet of Cooke's work -- the only flaw, if there is one, is the absence of one of the better tracks off of the Harlem Square live album. ~ Bruce Eder Although Cooke never made an individually great album, this collection demonstrates his enormous catalogue of sweet soul music. The age of CD gave us this selection which is unbeatable in choice, ranging from his early days of gospel right through to the period before he was tragically killed. The fresh-faced man on the cover looks exactly as you imagine his music to sound; his voice was like cream in coffee. Most of the songs have been covered dozens of time by artists such as Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Steve Miller and Otis Redding, but none has succeeded in interpreting any Cooke song as anything more than a humble tribute. Rod Stewart would be the first to admit this. minimize
Album Description
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2 LPs and cassettes on 1 CD. Digitally remastered. Personnel: Sam Cooke (vocals). When this 28-song compilation (two LPs/one CD) originally appeared, it was the first serious exploration of Sam Cooke's catalog ever done. What's more, a lot of care went into the selection, if not the packaging -- despite the fact that it has no annotation, or even release dates on its 28 songs, The Man and His Music is still the only comprehensive single-volume collection of the hits and highlights of Cooke's career from the mid-'50s to his last sides in 1964. What's more, it's out of print, and it is likely to be the last such compilation that we'll ever see, because in the years since its release, the ownership of Cooke's post-1963 sides (comprising his most advanced and ambitious soul recordings) shifted from RCA to ABKCO, and the chances are next to non-existent that either company will ever license its portion of Cooke's catalog to the other. There are better-sounding collections and better-annotated collections, to be sure, and fuller collections -- in 2000, RCA issued The Man Who Invented Soul, a four-CD that goes deeper into Cooke's output from 1958 through 1963; and in 2002, ABKCO issued Keep Movin' On, a single-disc compilation covering Cooke's 1964 sides, including his final hits. But The Man and His Music is the only Sam Cooke compilation that covers all of the major phases of his career, from his gospel work with the Soul Stirrers through all of the early pop hits and his move into soul music, culminating with his final classic soul sides. The Soul Stirrers' classic "Touch the Hem of His Garment" slides effortlessly into and through sides like "You Send Me" and "Chain Gang," to the early soul numbers like "Nothing Can Change This Love," "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day," and the achingly beautiful "Just for You," to "Having a Party" and the wrenching balladry of "Sad Mood," and through to the transcendent final sides, the rousing "Shake" and the Civil Rights ode "A Change Is Gonna Come" (the latter showing up for the first time in decades, and the first of only two times on CD, in its full-length version). There are better collections with all of these songs and more on them, but none handier than this in presenting every facet of Cooke's work -- the only flaw, if there is one, is the absence of one of the better tracks off of the Harlem Square live album. ~ Bruce Eder Although Cooke never made an individually great album, this collection demonstrates his enormous catalogue of sweet soul music. The age of CD gave us this selection which is unbeatable in choice, ranging from his early days of gospel right through to the period before he was tragically killed. The fresh-faced man on the cover looks exactly as you imagine his music to sound; his voice was like cream in coffee. Most of the songs have been covered dozens of time by artists such as Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Steve Miller and Otis Redding, but none has succeeded in interpreting any Cooke song as anything more than a humble tribute. Rod Stewart would be the first to admit this.
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