The Rhythm and the Blues

by Sam Cooke

Overview

From the title, you might infer that this 20-track compilation -- taken from early-'60s sessions, and principally composed of LP-only cuts -- aims to showcase Cooke's most soulful side. That's true to some degree, but this isn't his funkiest stuff; for that, look to Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963, or even his most up-tempo singles. Most of this is, in fact, suave pop/R&B, the emphasis sometimes falling on the pop, with lightly swinging, jazzy arrangements, and some orchestration. Cooke didn't write most of the material here, and while "Little Red Rooster" (a hit single) represents the earthiest extreme that the CD touches upon, there are also quite a few songs that were originally performed by jazz/popsters from the '20s, '30s, and '40s. Certainly these are decent offerings; Cooke's a great singer and interpreter, and the arrangements are smooth without being overdone. But it's neither Cooke at his very best (the hits compilation Man and His Music is much better), or his grittiest (that honor belongs to Harlem Square). It does restore much of his better obscure material to wide availability, and is recommended to those who have the above-mentioned albums and want more Cooke, although the 1963 LP Night Beat (reissued on CD in 1995) is a bluesier and better one to check out first. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	10/24/1995
Label:	Bmg / Sony Music Entertainment
UPC:	0886976961824

Tracks

1. Get Yourself Another Fool
2. Driftin' Blues
3. Fool's Paradise
4. Smoke Rings
5. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
6. Please Don't Drive Me Away
7. Nothing Can Change This Love
8. But Not For Me
9. Don't Get Around Much Any More
10. Trouble In Mind
11. Little Girl Blue
12. I Lost Everything
13. Chains of Love
14. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
15. Since I Met You Baby
16. Cry Me a River
17. Trouble Blues
18. Little Red Rooster
19. Out In the Cold Again
20. One More Time

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sam Cooke   Primary Artist,Vocals
Billy Preston   Guest Artist
Hal Blaine   Guest Artist
Barney Kessel   Guest Artist
Horace Ott   Conductor
Sammy Lowe   Conductor
Rene Hall   Conductor
Luigi   Conductor
Hugo   Conductor

Technical Credits

Luigi Creatore   Producer
Hugo Peretti   Producer
Charles Warfield   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Ernest Tucker   Composer
Lorenz Hart   Composer
Sam Cooke   Composer
Robert Geddins   Composer
Johnny Moore   Composer
Sammy Lowe   Arranger
Ned Washington   Composer
Richard M. Jones   Composer
Ahmet Ertegun   Composer
Bill Lacey   Audio Restoration
David Hassinger   Engineer
Ted Koehler   Composer
Bobby Bloom   Composer
Ivory Joe Hunter   Composer
Clarence Williams   Composer
Frank Haywood   Composer
Gene Gifford   Composer
Charles Brown   Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Jerry Fuller   Composer
Jimmie Cox   Composer
Arthur Hamilton   Composer
H. E. Gifford   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Frankie Pezzella   Project Manager
Luigi   Producer
Amy Wenzler   Design
Jesse Ervin   Composer
Hugo   Producer
James Cox   Composer
Clifford White   Liner Notes
Eddie Eddings   Vault Research
Ella Tate   Composer
Mabel Cordle   Composer
Cleve Keller   Archive Research
Paul Williams   Tape Research,Compilation Producer
George Gershwin   Composer
Eddie Williams   Composer
Rube Bloom   Composer
Duke Ellington   Composer
Mike Hartry   Digital Transfers
T. B. Harms   Composer
Bob Russell   Composer