Complete Recordings of Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers [BOX SET]

Sam Cooke

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: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,400 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	aliled "aliled" (Shawnee, Kansas United States) - See all my reviews

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.

13 of 13 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" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Close Your Eyes And Listen, May 23, 2003

By	SCooke UK (Liverpool UK) - See all my reviews

To the voice that kills all others from Elvis to Sinatra.
In my honest opinion Sam Cookes gospel recordings leave his secular work far far behind. From the first to last track this is a lesson in musical history.
Thr last 3 songs taken from the shrine concert live will dispel any doubts that Sam Cooke was only a smooth singer . Man he proves here that he can shout better than Otis, Al Green, or Wilson Pickett.
At last he seems to be getting the dues he so rightly deserves , but don't take my word for it . Buy this set and listen without prejudice. If you are not truly amazed then you shouldn't be listening to Sam Cooke , maybe Liberace would be more your cup of tea