This is important because Sam Cooke's songwriting and storytelling skills are as much his legacy as his Gospel music beginnings, his mysterious, untimely 1964 murder, and his influence on Steve Perry (whose "Lovin' Touchin', Squeezin" was a Cooke tribute of sorts), Rod Stewart (who claimed he listened only to Cooke records for two whole years as a teen), Terrence Trent D'Arby and a generation's rock and R&B singers.

Cooke's chart hits are here, except for the relatively minor "Soothe Me" and "Frankie & Johnny." You get his gentle, intricate vocal trills on his first singles for the Keen in the 1950s (1957's #1 "You Send Me," "Wonderful World," "Cupid"). You get his rethinks of country, blues, even pop standards ("Tennessee Waltz" becomes a gospel rave up; "Little Red Rooster" a slow churn blues with a teenage Billy Preston's extra cheesy organ, "Summertime" a vocal showcase with offbeat rhythm and guitar). Finally, you get Cooke's rollicking humor and detailed lyrics on his dance hits ("Shake," the dancers' garb and moves in "Twistin' the Night Away," the hip DJ requests in "Havin' A Party.")

Guralnick refers often to Cooke's phrasing, which found soul and poetry approximating daily speech. On his greatest artistic achievement, 1964's finale "A Change is Gonna Come," Cooke tops even himself. He takes Bob Dylan's lyrical challenge in "Blowin' In The Wind" (which Cooke admired for being written and performed as pop by whites) and, through hopeful words sung as near-weeping laments, he approximates the timbre and granduer of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech given less than a year before.

"Portrait" set is bookended with Cooke leading Gospel's legendary Soul Stirrers for two songs. They not only define soul's gospel roots but showed Cooke sang a great Bible story as easily as from a cha-cha crowded dance floor, highway prison road gang, or lonely room. For more, reach for his dark, mellow "Night Beat" or the "Man Who Invented Soul" multi-disc. Ultimately, "Portrait" underrates itself; it's more like a small, soulful slice-of=life gallery from one of music's seminal artists.


The best Sam Cooke disc currently in-print   June 17, 2003
 22 out of 23 found this review helpful

There's no track listing, and the disc is due out today. Luckily, I've got a promo:

1. Touch the Hem of His Garment
2. Lovable
3. You Send Me
4. Only Sixteen
5. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
6. Just For You
7. Win Your Love For Me
8. Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha
9. I'll Come Running Back to You
10. You Were Made For Me
11. Sad Mood
12. Cupid
13. (What a) Wonderful World
14. Chain Gang
15. Summertime
16. Little Red Rooster
17. Bring it on Home to Me

18. Nothing Can Change This Love
19. Sugar Dumpling
20. (Ain't That) Good News
21. Meet Me at Mary's Place
22. Twistin' the Night Away
23. Shake
24. Tennesse Waltz
25. Another Saturday Night
26. Good Times
27. Having a Party
28. That's Where It's At
29. A Change is Gonna Come
30. Jesus Gave Me Water

Remember "Man and His Music"? This basically takes its place. The sound is excellent (this SACD hybrid will play on both SACD and CD players so don't worry about it), far better than "Man and His Music," and the track selection is better. A bit more thorough with a few more tracks, it drops a few of the lighter, lesser tracks for some stronger ones like "Jesus Gave Me Water," "Little Red Rooster," "Summertime," and "Sugar Dumpling," which also paint a more complete picture of Cooke; "Rooster" is a great late-night blues number, and I highly recommend "Night Beat," the great Cooke album from which it came. I wish they kept "Soothe Me"; Sam & Dave and Cooke's proteges, the Simm Twins, did better renditions, but Cooke wrote the song, and he still recorded a very fine version. The order is jumbled a bit, so if you take the time to put it in chronological order, you also get an idea of how Cooke's music evolved. From his classic Soul Stirrers tracks (some say his best work) like "Touch The Hem..." to his first forays into pop ("Lovable" and "You Send Me") to irresistably catchy party songs ("Having A Party," "Twistin' The Night Away," "Another Saturday Night," the epochal "Shake," all classics) to beautiful late night ballads ("Sad Mood") to some of the first and best soul music ever made ("Good Times," "Bring It On Home To Me," and "A Change Is Gonna Come"), this is an AMAZING collection. All beautifully sung by one of the greatest vocalists, composers, and visionaries in pop music history. That's not even mentioning his biggest hits, "Wonderful World" "Chain Gang," again classics. This music is simply essential.

It's not the only Cooke album I'd get. Besides "Night Beat," I'd also get "Live at Harlem Square" and "Keep Movin' On." If you've got the cash, the four-disc RCA set is also worth getting (and if you get that, you'll get "Night Beat" and "Live at Harlem Square" complete on one disc).

Your first stop for Cooke, the only stop if you're on a budget or simply want just one CD (and deny yourself the further pleasure of hearing the other albums I mentioned).


Someone Finally Got It Right   July 4, 2003
 19 out of 23 found this review helpful

It took over 30 years, but there is finally an Sam Cooke anthology that presents a well rounded potrait of this amazing artist's many talents. "Potrait of a Legend" trumps all of it's predecessors by including a great deal of Sam's lesser known work that proves him to be able to "testify" with best singers of his generation including Otis Redding, Ray Charles, and James Brown. Previous anthologies were competent collections of Sam Cooke "lite", his lilting crossover hits with RCA hits. The crossover Cooke was one of the first black entertainers to acheive huge success in selling records in the previous impenetrable white pop music market in the early sixties. Cooke's genius was that he understood the type of music needed to break through and acheive crossover success. The calyso influenced rythyms of his early hits and the winesome quality of his voice was his port of entry into mainstream. These irresistable songs like "Chain Gang", "You Send Me" and "Cupid" are flat-out American classics that paved the way for a generation of country boy singers who embraced the raw testimonial style of blues and gospel singers.

Sam Cooke had been there, and done that, with the incredible Soul Stirrers a gospel quartet formed in 1926 and joined by Cooke as a youngster in 1950. The Stirrers were a hugely popular group in the black community, playing churches and the "chittlin" circuit to enthusiastic fans. In the Soul Stirrers one can trace Cooke's evolving transformation from a talented apprentice "testifier", to a remarkable stylist with a voice so appealing that it spelled m-o-n-e-y to the A and R department of RCA records. Sam Cooke went "uptown" to tremendous success. "Live at the Harlem Sq. Club" is one of the few RCA records that documents of Sam Cooke's ability to embrace his gospel roots. "Night Beat" hints at it, but Cooke's intensity is muted by lumbering arrangements and over-production. With "Potrait of A Legend", we finally get Sam Cooke "Lite" and Sam the Testifier under the same roof, and the result is the real Sam Cooke.


Outstanding Collection   October 20, 2003
 17 out of 18 found this review helpful

If god has a singing voice he would sound just like Sam Cooke. This collection is a wonderful tribute to the greatest singer all time. This Cd is a bitter sweet tast of Sam's vocal stlying and unique phrasing. Bitter Sweet because we were deprived of his artistry and soulful conncetion with a song and his audience. We can only wonder how great he would have become had he lived.

Sam's legacy is his wonderful voice and interpetation of a song; his exra-ordinary ability to enfuse a pop song with heart, soul and spirit. Not to mention his gospel roots.

This collection is very similar to his previous collection A Man and his Music but I feel it is worthy follow-up and rebranding of the Sam Cooke Legacy. A new genration of listeners will discover Sam Cooke and marvel at his wonderful heart rending A Change is Gonna Come and spiritual Touch the Hem of His Garment.

Sam's voice made standards like Summertime sound different and at times a completely different song. All great singers have this ability to interpret a song and find the diffintive expression. Sam was no exception. I am extremely biased on behalf of Sam Cooke becasue he is the benchmark by which all modern day male vocalist will be and have been judged.

The Spirit of Sam Cooke lives on through this wonderful collection.

Simply inspiring.