The Man and His Music

The Man and His Music Review

Would that all CD compilations were as well-produced and generous as this early one [1986] from RCA Victor/abcko which, not being titled "best of" or greatest hits of", cannot be criticized for not offering only hit singles.

Even so, you do get 21 of his 43 Billboard Pop/35 R&B/4 Adult Contemporary hits which he chalked up from 1957 to 1966 - two years beyond his tragic death at age 33 in December 1964. In addition, track 14 was the flip of Another Saturday Night [track 16] and, on its own, was a # 106 Billboard Hot 100 "bubble under" in 1963. Only tracks 1 [done while with The Soul Stirrers], 2, 6, 13, 17, and 26 were not hits - or the B-sides of hits - although when you hear them you will wonder why they did not chart - assuming they were even released as singles, especially Meet Me At Mary's Place [track 17].

If there are negatives these would relate to the meagre liner notes which, in a fold-out insert, offers sincere but all too brief comments by the likes of Jerry Wexler, Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, Bobby and Cecil Womack, Smokey Robinson, Huey Lewis, his long-time producer Hugo Peretti [of Hugo & Luigi instrumental fame], and Muhammad Ali, in addition to his father, Reverend Charles Cooke, and daughter Linda Cooke Womack. The best in this regard are those by Herb Alpert. There are also some great colour shots of Sam, including one with Muhammad Ali.

As for the tune selections, it would have been nice had they included two that are extremely hard to find. One is Cousin Of Mine [# 31 Hot 100 in 1964] - although they do give you the B-side, That's Where It's At [track 27], which made it to # 93. The other is his rendition of the old Patti Page hit, Tennessee Waltz which, as the flip of Good Times [# 11 in 1964 - track 19], made it to # 35 on its own.

Why is it that the best of the early CDs like this one and Brook Benton Forty Greatest Hits have fallen out of circulation while the junk crunched out by the likes of Curb continues to linger around? Come on, RCA or whoever - re-release this jewel.

The Man and His Music Overview

A 28-track best-of giving conclusive proof that soul's doomed golden boy was a singer of exquisite control and grace. Opening with a couple of Soul Stirrers gospel gems, The Man & His Music packs together most of Cooke's great pop sides, from the airily lovely "You Send Me" all the way to the majestic "A Change Is Gonna Come." Some of the cuts are more twee than others--it's rare that he touches the soulful pinnacles of "Bring It on Home to Me" or "That's Where It's At," and too often he descends to dross like "When a Boy Falls in Love." Even on the more winsome hits, though, he remains a peerless vocal artist. And when you finally get to "Change," it's hard not to feel despair at Cooke's premature death. --Barney Hoskyns

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