Sam Cooke
The Best of Sam Cooke
(RCA/Legacy)
First Appeared in The Music Box, November 2005, Volume 12, #11
Written by John Metzger
For a time, Sam Cooke ranked second only to Elvis Presley in his ability to
craft commercially successful singles for RCA. Indeed, after garnering a great deal of
attention in the gospel world for his work with the Soul Stirrers, he sold two
million copies of You Send Me, the first pop tune to be released under
his own name. He deftly avoided one-hit wonder status by following it with a
seemingly endless stream of classic recordings: Chain Gang, Cupid,
Wonderful World, Having a Party, Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha,
Bring It on Home to Me, and Twistin’ the Night Away, among them.
By 1962, he had amassed such a superlative suite of songs that RCA saw fit to
compile The Best of Sam Cooke, a stellar collection that provided a
magnificent overview of the first portion of his career. Although it has been
reissued on several occasions, it amazingly has never been out of print. In its
latest incarnation, the set features three solid but less essential bonus tracks
— Win Your Love for Me, You Were Made for Me, and Nothing Can
Change This Love — and taken in full, it’s easy to see why Cooke’s music has
endured for so long. The problem, however, is that The Best of Sam Cooke
recently was supplanted as the definitive retrospective by the 30-track, SACD-hybrid
Portrait of a Legend 1951–1964, which not only boasts twice the amount of
material, but also includes his post-1962 gems A Change Is Gonna Come, Shake, and Another Saturday Night. Nevertheless, The Best of Sam
Cooke still serves as a concise, 39-minute introduction to one of most
gifted vocalists in rock ’n‘ roll history — as long as one understands that it
isn’t meant to be a comprehensive portrait. 
Of Further Interest...
Van Morrison - The Healing Game
Joss Stone - The Soul Sessions
The Best of Sam Cooke is available from
Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2005 The Music Box