Customer Reviews

Man Who Invented Soul

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading through the twenty or so reviews of "The Man Who Invented Soul" I wanted to comment on a number of issues raised by the various writers.

1. BMG/RCA does not own material recorded by Sam recorded after September 1963, even though it was originally released on the RCA label. This is owned by ABKCO Records (Allen Klein).

2. For the above reasons we were unable to inlcude signature songs like "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Shake" and so on. These titles will presumably appear on future releases from ABKCO.

3. The intention of this box was to focus in on the Keen repertoire which RCA purchased in the early '60s and his RCA recordings up until the "Tracey" period (post 9/63).

4. That having been said, it was my intention to use come up with some hundred or so Cooke classics, many of which have never been on CD. I would have loved to include the ABKCO owned material, but this wasn't possible and it is my feeling that it is best to have something out there than nothing at all.

5. All the RCA songs are from the original first generation session or master tapes so this is the best ever sound quality, substantially better than "The Man and his Music" (compare 'em).

6. RCA had to delete (cut out) "The Man And His Music" because it contained several titles which reverted to ABKCO. (There are no copies of this CD on the market legitimately).

7. There is a legal issue over the original version of "Another Saturday Night", so we used a very similar alternate version.

8. Many people have commented that they prefer the stereo versions to the mono mixes. All these titles were mixed to stereo at the same time (or very close to) the original 45. In some cases, "Cool Train" for example, this is the first release in stereo.

9. RCA was very limited in its use of photos because of legal issues; this also goes for some of the original album covers.

10. Mr Klein approved the liner notes and made corrections as appropriate.

All in all, I was very happy with the end result which, although I have to admit I'm a little biased, is as good as it gets, given the various issues surrounding Sam's recordings.

I am sure that it will only be a matter of time before Allen and/or Jody Klein put together a release befitting the repertoire that is now ABKCO's. ABKCO has put together some wonderful boxes in the past and I know that the Tracey period will be well served by them.

Paul Williams - Compilation Producer

A great collection, as far as it goes. But potential buyers should keep in mind that this collection does not span all of Sam's career. First, the box includes nothing from Sam's tenure with the Soul Stirrers, from 1951 to 1957. If you're interested in Sam's work with that fabulous gospel group, check out "Sam Cooke With The Soul Stirrers" on Fantasy/Specialty.

Second, the box includes nothing that Sam recorded during the last 15 months of his life, including such essential tracks as "Shake" and "A Change Is Gonna Come." Unfortunately, that material is not readily available; the recordings are owned by ABKCO, and we can only hope that ABKCO sees fit to release its own collection sometime soon. Some of the best songs from that period, including the two mentioned above, are on the excellent but out-of-print "The Man And His Music." Look for it at used CD stores, eBay, etc.

WARNING: This deluxe 4-CD box set treatment by one of the greatest soul singers of all time is not as thorough as a 96-song collection should be. Yes, you get all of his hits from the Keen label and most of his big hits for RCA where Cooke recorded from 1960 until his untimely death in December 1964 (although some of these are not the original single versions). And the disc-4 inclusion of the entire Night Beat and Live at the Harlem Square Club albums is a nice bonus.

But there are glaring omissions. Here was RCA's opportunity to justify deleting 1986's The Man & His Music from their catalog, and they blew it big time. Where are the tracks covering Cooke's work with the Soul Stirrers? And even if RCA couldn't negotiate with Specialty to get these tracks, it doesn't explain the absence of all of Cooke's 1964 hits: "(Ain't That) Good News," "Good Times" (both of which went to No. 11), or the raucous "Cousin of Mine" (his last single before his death). And where are the posthumous hits? "Shake" (his final Top Ten) was the consumate party song--later covered by Rod Stewart. And perhaps the most glaring omission is the poignant "A Change Is Gonna Come."

This box set is an amazing testament to the genius of Same Cooke--but I'm also still hanging on to my copy of The Man & His Music. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A pretty audacious title for this box. Does it deliver? Frankly no: There are certainly some of his best tracks here that showcase both his smooth soaring side and the times when he'd allow a little sandpaper into his voice. But it also fails to give you any idea where that great voice got its seasoning (none of his Specialty era gospel material) and turns away for the most part from the grittier material it seems Cooke would have aimed at had a hotel manager's gun not claimed his life. In addition, the recognition of the wonderful instrument that was Sam's voice should be paired with the knowledge that his material wasn't always worthy of it. (This set would probably be fine as a well-chosen 2 CD set)

What's missing here? His time with the Soul Stirrers, plenty of songs that were Top 40 hits on the pop or R&B chart (#1 R&B I'll Come Running Back to You, R&B Top 10 hits Little Red Rooster (you get a live version instead),Shake, and A Change is Gonna Come, as well as Ain't That Good News, Good Times, Tennessee Waltz, Cousin Of Mine, and It's Got The Whole World Shakin', all of which hit Top 40 on one or both charts. The version of "Another Saturday Night" you get here is an alternate take instead of the 45RPM version. It would also seem essential to get his first bid at mainstream appeal with "Lovable". (He released it under the name Dale Cook to try and avoid offending his gospel fans.) Most of these are missing because of lawyers (read the review by compilation producer Paul Williams for the in-depth explanation).

The last disc is the whole albums of NIGHT BEAT and LIVE AT THE HARLEM SQUARE CLUB. It feels more like a record company cash grab from Cooke connoisseurs than an attempt to be comprehensive. Cherrypicking a few live cuts would be the better route.

Soundwise, I can't argue with the remastering. It all sounds stunning. If you're a mono purist, be advised that stereo mixes were used on this set.

BOTTOM LINE:
Cooke is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and deserves better than this. Until the lawyers can get in agreement, Cooke will not have a definitive box set. There's a phenomenal 2 CD box set on Cooke waiting to be made. Until then, most Cooke fans will get the best overview on the remastered SACD audio PORTRAIT OF A LEGEND (31 tracks,B00009N1ZV). It distills Cooke's greatness in a single disc and includes nearly everything mentioned as "missing" above.

3 1/2 stars

Some may holler over missing deeply loved tracks, and I can understand.

However, Sam was so prolific; there was more to him than A Change is Gonna Come and Shake. Although, they are some great jams. His best, "A Change..." is no doubt THE song. (It made the songwriters hall of fame.)

I sampled this collection, and I was impressed and wished I had started with this before I accumulated my Cooke cds. There is a lot to this set that I as a big fan, a collector of 12 cds, do not have, but then there is a lot that I do have.

Now, if I were someone who had a cd or two of Cooke's, I would be floored, but I think box collections are for fans. Fans willing to pay the 50 bucks!

As a fan I would require all the aforementioned songs: Change, Shake, gospel tracks, and my favorite, That's Where's It's At.

The best anthology yet of Sam's is The Man and His Music, which has Change..., Shake, and others not on this collection.

[As a fan, I won't let anyone down who REQUIRES a Change Gonna Come, Shake, Meet Me at Mary's Place, Good Times, and That's Where It's At. Read on to see how I can put you out of your misery.]

I tell you the compilers of that cd picked 28 outstanding songs three gospels and 25 secular, and they did a fantastic job!

Where were they when it came to putting this together?

Now, I am not going to trash this box set; it's wonderful.

There's decent music on it, and I would kill to have this collection, if I didn't feel that I already half-way have it.

If you are on the fence, get this cd! You won't be disappointed. Shoot, I might do a complete turn-around and caugh up the dough, because I would love to read whatever they got in there and check out the pictures. (Folks, they even got the lyrics!)

However, if you want a true collection, you'll have to augment your Cooke catalogue with Man & His Music, Cooke with the Soul Stirrers, and his other live performance at the Shrine auditorium called, The Great '55 Shrine Concert.

Now, any fan wants to cry over spilled milk can email me at:

cinnanight@earthlink.net

I will direct you to where you can get Man and his music, Soul Stirrers, and The Great Shrine Concert, which by the way only has three powerful songs (totally about 23 min.) but well worth it, anyway.

AT LONG LAST ,SAM COOKE HAS BEEN ACCORDED A BOX SET,WHICH HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING.MANY TRACKS MAKE THEIR DIGITAL DEBUT(TEENAGE SONATA)WHICH MAKES THIS AN ESSENTIAL.Unfortunately,his post 1963 recording(A Change Is Gonna Come,Shake,and many others)aren't included,due to the fact that RCA could not get a licsence from ABCKO who have own the rights to those recordings since 1993.Those recordings are available on the Keep Moving On Compilation.With these two sets,then you'll finally get a better picture of the man's genius.

Every reviewer has lamented the omissions made on this box set, omissions that were unavoidable due to legal issues (as explained by Mr. Williams). I love "A Change Is Gonna Come," I love "Shake," and I love many other tracks from Tracey Records that couldn't be included on this set. However, complaining about it isn't going to rectify matters.

What's left on the box is still a great collection covering Cooke's ascendancy to the top of r&b & soul music. Beginning with his first secular single, the first three discs show how his music evolved from pop music aimed at a mass audience to even greater music that gravitated more to his gospel and r&b roots. It's surprising that the more popular he became, the more uncompromising his music became as well.

Discs one and two contain mostly pop songs reminiscient of the songs you hear on Oldies stations, with quite a number of them sounding much like big band pop, the sort fellow soul innovator Ray Charles would make on "The Genius of Ray Charles." But despite these arrangments as well as back-up singers who were often white, Sam's marvelous singing comes through as a spectacular marriage of gospel, r&b, and pop. Lesser-known gems like "Sad Mood" (presented here in two great versions) show an incredible display of depth. By disc three, Sam has perfected his blend of soul music, giving us such immortal classics as "Bring It On Home To Me" and "Soothe Me."

Despite the absence of Tracey material, the set does not come to an abrupt close. Instead, we're treated with the magnificent disc four, which presents the classic "Night Beat" (now unbelievably out-of-print) and "Live at Harlem Square" (remastered, restored, and properly resequenced). The former album is a sweaty, gritty display of soul that showcases the r&b/blues roots of Cooke's music. The latter is one of the best live albums ever; here Cooke does away with the smooth, pop concessions altogether and gives us a raw, passionate performance that is immense fun as well. As Michael Hill says, it ends perfectly with Cooke rousing the audience with "Having A Party." A great tribute to a man who left us far too soon.

Yes, there are some songs missing. Yes, inane struggles about the right to release his music keep anything from being comprehensive. That said, this is a great set.

Other than the songs missing that some of the other reviewers lament like "Shake" and of course "Change is Gonna Come" and the early work with the Soul Stirrers, this is the best collection of Magic Sam's work there is. His voice was smooth, sometimes plaintive with anguish and sometimes cheerfully innocent. It is all here from "Cupid" and "Only 16" to Having a Party and Frankie and Johnny".

Lets not overlook what is here by concentrating on the small amount that is not.

Having just bought The Man Who Invented Soul, I can't help feel sad and disappointed. Sam Cooke is my favorite singer bar none, but this collection hardly does him justice. Other reviewers are right; there hasn't yet been a proper, comprehensive Sam Cooke compilation, and this certainly is not it. As anyone remotely interested in Cooke must, I already own the excellent Live at Harlem Square and Night Beat, which together make up the fourth CD of this box set. And many of the better singles in this collection are already covered in the fine The Man and His Music, which also thankfully includes A Change is Gonna Come.

So what's here? A lot of mid-level, middlebrow songs that Sam does his best with, but that really can't be elevated even by the finest singing. The sappiness of songs like Teenage Sonata sounds so cloying in this day and age that I found myself constantly having to skip forward--these professions of endless love have nothing to do with real love, the real world, or for that matter, real soul. Worse, Sam's attempts to cover jazz and blues standards is little short of an embarrassment; I never thought I'd hear Sam sound like a weak singer, but when he covers Summertime, Crazy She Calls Me, and I Got a Right To Sing the Blues, it's impossible not to think of how much more emotion and passion Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington brought to them. That's not to say there aren't some beautiful, previously unreleased songs on here--just not enough to warrant the astronomical price. I wish RCA had simply issued a normal CD of undiscovered Sam, rather than trying to pick my pocket by padding the collection with inferior material.

This is my second review of this box. I reviewed it last week when I had it on order. I have now received it and it's absolutely wonderful despite all the missing tracks from the last year or so of Sam's life. To me, the sound quality is excellent. However here is an interesting point. Bearing in mind that this box was compiled and remastered by the same people who did the recent Greatest Hits single CD why is the box set version of Win Your Love For Me about 20 seconds shorter than on Greatest Hits? Stereo mix(box set)versus mono mix(greatest hits)? Well that could be one explanation but the stereo version also appears on The Man And His Music and it runs for the longer length. Work that one out! So if you thought you could trade in Greatest Hits for the box set, think twice! Another point: I noticed Alan Klein mentioned in the liner notes of the box as having been involved in renegotiating Sam's contract in 1963. Could this explain the licensing problems preventing this compilation from being definitive? Just a thought.