#443: Live At The Harlem Square Club- Sam Cooke

Listened to: MP3

Now, before today, I will admit I was not familiar with Sam Cooke’s body of work. In fact, I believe it’s safe to say that anyone under 20 who was not raised to be, or became on their own, a die-hard soul music fan is not familiar with Sam Cooke. His name is not as house-hold-ish as Marvin Gaye or Otis Redding. But I have a personal disdain for Sam Cooke, and it’s no fault of his. When Rolling Stone ranked their “Greatest Singers”, Cooke came in fourth. Above Roger Daltrey, Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and basically any other singer you’ve ever heard of besides Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Elvis Presley. Now, those three I got. So maybe Elvis coulda gone as #1, but that aside, I’m sure I’m not the only one who said “Who the fuck is Sam Cooke, how does he beat out Robert Plant, Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, and Jim Morrison, and most importantly, why does Rolling Stone have such a hard on for him?”. Well, gentle reader, I still do not know the answer, but I intend to attempt to discern it from what is considered to be his finest live album, Live At The Harlem Square Club. So, without further ado, let’s get to the album:

“Feel It” starts out with your typical live concert intro, then moves into Sam Cooke singing a swing-type track with a band that’s…is it just me or is the band a little off. The drums feel like their lagging, and it just sounds like the instruments are just playing horribly sloppy. By the end of the track, the band gets it together. I mean, every band needs to get into the groove at the start of their set (God knows we’ve had some awful opening number [I’m talking to you, our cover of That Thing You Do]), but on one of the 500 Greatest albums of all time?

“Chain Gang” is another upbeat kind of track, and now the band just sounds kind of…flat. This is a nice song, but I’m still not getting what makes this guy so special as a singer. As a songwriter, obviously these are very good tracks, but he just sounds like a raspy voiced singer. There are a lot of those. “Cupid” is a fantastic example of what soul music should be. It’s a gorgeous track, and the band even plays well on this one. But, it’s kind of like listening to Rod Stewart (now) sing it. Sure, maybe my desire for his singing to be amazing is based on his ranking on RS’s list, but so what? If you want “unbiased” reviews (aka, reviews that pretend that nothing at all has had any influence on how they feel about things) you can find a million of them on the web. I’m just wearing my bias on my sleeve.

The vocal riff he does at the beginning of “Medley: It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons” is gorgeous, and then it stops, and he does some stage banter which nicely flows into the song. It’s nice to hear the crowd sing along and scream out to Sam, but I’m just not getting it. Fantastic songs, average singer. “Twistin’ The Night Away” is a classic, obviously, and apparently Cooke’s version is the definitive. I’m just not sure why.

How he ties his last track into the music of “Somebody Have Mercy” is something I could definitely learn from. Cooke has a spirit about him when he performs, that he really loves what he’s doing, the songs he’s singing, and every single person he’s singing for. “Bring It On Home To Me” is where the emotion really comes out. Cooke’s wail, his shrieks, they finally fit with what he’s saying. This is one powerful track, I’ll admit that. “Nothing Can Change This Love” is another fantastic example of Sam Cooke’s great compositional skill. The album ends on “Having A Party”, which is a fun little number to close a show on. Still not getting what make him this mind-blowing singer, but all in all it was a good show to listen to.

Look, as an example of the fourth greatest singer in rock history, this album sucks. But as a time capsule of early soul music, and a great energy live album, it really is very good. I’m sorry that may not have come across in this review, but I do want everyone to give it a chance. He may not be this earth-shattering singer, but as a songwriter and a performer, there’s a spark that’s undeniable. It deserves a place on THIS list. Fourth place on the singers? You know how I feel. What about you?

-Mike

Tomorrow is one I’m very excited for. The first Beatles album on our magical journey (and odds are the only one that won’t have 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 guest writers for it), #59: Meet the Beatles.