Complete Recordings of Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers [Box set]

Sam Cooke | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 22, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Specialty
• ASIN: B00006LI1I
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,595 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #37 in Music > R&B > Classic R&B
  • #83 in Music > Box Sets

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Come, Let Us Go Back to God

2. Peace in the Valley

3. I'm Gonna Build on That Shore

4. I'm Gonna Build on That Shore

5. I'm on the Firing Line

6. I'm on the Firing Line

See all 29 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. End of My Journey

2. He'll Welcome Me

3. He's My Friend Until the End

4. He's My Friend Until the End (take 2 - alternate)

5. I Have a Friend Above All Others

6. Come and Go to That Land

See all 30 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. The Last Mile of the Way

2. He's So Wonderful

3. Touch the Hem of His Garment

4. Jesus, Wash Away My Troubles

5. Farther Along

6. Must Jesus Bear This Cross Alone?

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While the pop classics by the grit-and-honey singer reached a broader audience, Sam Cooke's formative music with the Soul Stirrers, recorded for the Specialty label, ranks with both his best and gospel's best. Only 19 when he was recruited in 1950 to replace the group's venerable R.H. Harris, Cooke developed the signature style he would carry into the popular arena while he was still singing church music. Disc 1 shows the raw passion of a vocalist who has yet to apply the polish for which he would become known. By disc 2, Cooke is no longer tentative in replacing a legend but asserting an irrepressible musical identity. Disc 3 demonstrates his growth as both a vocal master and an ambitious songwriter--most famously on "Touch the Hem of His Garment"--while documenting his transition as a solo artist into the secular arena. Among the revelations of the set's 83 tracks, the stripped-down arrangements on the alternate takes of "Come and Go to That Land" anticipate the rise of "sacred steel," while the vocal call-and-response over the organ bedrock of "All Right Now" is as rapturous as gospel gets. After the various takes of "Were You There?" show how Cooke could take the most familiar material and make it his own, the final three tracks capture his electrifying impact in live performance. --Don McLeese

Product Description

All 84 sides Sam recorded with the Soul Stirrers-many featuring him trading lead vocals with the awesome Paul Foster-on one spirit-lifting, soul-shaking 3-CD set! Inside are such touchstones as Jesus Gave Me Water; He's My Friend until the End; Be with Me Jesus; Touch the Hem of His Garment; That's Heaven to Me ; the pop hit I'll Come Running Back to You , and more, including alternate takes and 20 minutes of the Soul Stirrers' stunning 1955 performance at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Joyous!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable collection, April 21, 2003

By 

aliled "aliled" (Austin, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Complete Recordings of Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers (Audio CD)

This is a fascinating document. Presented in chronological order (aside from a few live songs tacked on to the end), it charts the growth not just of Sam Cooke as an artist, but the slow birth of secularized soul from 50's gospel roots. All the recordings sound great, and credit most be given to the folks at Specialty for preserving the masters - outtakes included - with such obvious care. The earliest material here, from 1951, would probably be considered "pop gospel" for the time. It flows nicely, isn't much for histrionics and makes for smooth listening. If you didn't know better, it might take you a song or two before it becomes obvious that it's Sam Cooke singing, and not just some guy who maybe sounds like him. But by 1953, Cooke's vocal style is impossible to mistake; he dominates the songs, and when Paul Foster pops up now and then, the contrast between his "blacker" gospel voice and Cooke's velvet tone is amazing - and it's not that Foster isn't amazing too, by the way. By the third disc, the line between gospel and pop has become utterly blurred - a song like "I'll Come Running Back To You" has as good a claim to be the first "soul" song as any. It's obviously gospel-influenced, and the lyrics are ambiguous enough that you could make a claim for it being a gospel tune, but . . . something, somehow has changed. Aside from historical importance, it's a riveting song and possibly Cooke's single best performance.

The attractions of this box are its completeness, great sound and nice packaging. If you're inclined to by anything of Cooke's beyond a simple greatest hits collection, I'd urge you to buy this package - there isn't really one single-disc distillation of this material that covers all the bases covered here, so by the time you buy the two or three that might, you'd pay about as much as you would for this.

There are only a few rare packages that convey so beautifully an important aspect of important American music, whether it's the Nuggets box or the Anthology Of American Folk Music. This is clearly in the league; any music fan with expansive tastes should own it.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Birth of Soul, December 11, 2002

By 

William E Donoghue "Fessor Mojo" (Healdsburg CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complete Recordings of Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers (Audio CD)

This is the heart of soul singing. There is not a bad or boring track on this CD Box Set. Sam Cooke was the inspiration for nearly every soul singer you will ever hear. If you think you know his work from You Send Me and his pop work, you are in for a surprise. These are some of the finest recording he ever made and they all pre-date You Send Me. The Soul Stirrers had been around for decades when Sam joined them and this is the finest example of their work. Sam fairly floats like a jazz singer over their meaty chords. Yet this is not jazz, this is gospel and you will cherish every word.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sam Cooke gospel anthology, August 10, 2005

By 

B. Bullard (Gurnee, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complete Recordings of Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers (Audio CD)

As a lifelong fan of Sam Cooke, I have looked for a way to enjoy all of the great music that he created in his brief gospel career without purchasing a number of CDs. This collection has allowed me to accomplish that. This set showcases the vast talent of these men and from time to time, gives a peek behind the curtain of the finished recordings.

My only criticism of the collection is that several secular songs (certainly not the best of those that Sam Cooke recorded) are tossed into the middle of one of the disks, throwing off the feel and flow.