Portrait of a Legend: 1951-64 - Cooke, Sam (CD 2003)

...than Sam Cooke I don't know who it is.

Sam Cooke was one of the inventors of soul as most people who know music are well aware. Along with Ray Charles, he helped develop the form out of gospel and R&B and opened the door for pretty much everything that was to come after. From the Motown crowd to Otis Redding to Curtis Mayfield to current day soul greats like Mary J Blige, every artist that's come along since and sang (or in some cases, tried to sing) soul music owes a massive debt to Sam Cooke. Indeed, the whole history of recorded music since would have been A LOT poorer without him.

Like the aforementioned Charles and the Motown artists, I heard Cooke's music frequently when I was growing up. It was often played on the oldies station my parents listened to in the car and I learned many of Sam's standards through that. I also remember the 45 my dad had of "Twistin' The Night Away". In fact, I can remember dancing to that song when I was 4-5 years old.

So it came to pass that while making my way through the combined Rock-R&B section at a local record store not too long ago that I happened to realize that while I owned discs by most of the aforementioned artists, I had no Cooke. Time to remedy that. So I picked up a copy of the 30 track (actually 31, the first 30 tracks are the songs, the last one is an interview) compilation Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964 and took it home.

Portrait of a Legend is the most comprehensive single disc Sam Cooke collection there could be. So if you want a truly definitive look at Sam. But don't have the budget for the 5-CD Man Who Invented Soul box set, then go out and buy this CD ASAP.

Now on to the music itself.

Most people nowadays who know Sam Cooke remember him for the songs that are staples on the aforementioned oldies radio stations. These include his first hit, 1057's "You Send Me" which is one of the most tender and touching love songs ever recorded, "Cupid" a just as touching song that ANYONE who has ever felt the pain of one-sided love can identify with and "Only Sixteen" another great one that will have you singing along in no time. Also on the hit list is "Chain Gang" and I can't think of anyone who doesn't know that one. If you hear it and don't find the urge to sing along, you are technically dead. Same if you hear "Twistin' the Night Away" (later covered in an inferior version by Rod Stewart) and don't get the urge to get up and move.

Also on the hit parade, we have "(What A) Wonderful World" which may be the best teen romance number ever recorded and "Another Saturday Night" which on the surface appears to another one of those lonely night alone songs. But if one reads the liner notes on this album, they find that Cooke meant it as a sort of satire of the genre. But the way he sings it makes you feel it, even if Cooke himself at that point in time did not have the problem of Saturday Nights with nobody (according to the notes, Cooke was inspired to write the song while on a tour in England; he was staying at the Mayfair hotel and told by management that there could be no female guests in the rooms.)

There are more hits on this CD. But Portrait of a Legend doesn't stop at the radio hits (the way a previous Cooke collection did). It covers Sam's whole career.

The first song on the disc in fact is from Cooke's pre-pop era, when he sang Gospel with the Soul Stirrers. The song in question is called "Touch the Hem of His Garment" and it's a perfect example of Gospel. The same goes for the a Capella "Jesus Gave Me Water" the last song on the album.

Then we have the cover songs. In addition to the twenty four songs written by Cooke on this collection, we have his takes on Gershwin's "Summertime", Willie Dixon's Blues classic "Little Red Rooster", Nat King Cole's "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" and "Tennessee Waltz". Cooke puts his stamp on each of these numbers and makes them his own.

A review of Portrait of a Legend would be remiss to not mention "A Change Is Gonna Come". Inspired by Bob Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind", this song is one of the first protest songs in Soul music and one of the best. But protest song is way too limiting a description of it. If you haven't heard it yet, I do not wish to spoil it for you. Just give it a listen and tell me if you did not feel moved at the end. If you didn't, then your name is most likely Michael Bolton and you have no soul.

So yes, this collection is full of some of the greatest music ever recorded. That makes it even sadder when one considers that Cooke died just when he seemed to be on the verge of making even more great music (as "A Change" proves). Even sadder are the murky circumstances of his murder (for a great look beneath the official public version read this excellent essay). But we should not let that detract from enjoying, dancing to and being soothed by Cooke's music.

A few years after Cooke's tragic murder, Arthur Conley released his one hit single "Sweet Soul Music". The song began with the line "Do you like good music? If you answer yes to that question, then go out and buy a copy of Portrait of a Legend today. You will NOT be disappointed.