Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964 [SACD]

Sam made his breakthrough with You send me, which went all the way to number one in America (where it sold a couple of million) though it barely made the top thirty in Britain. In the fifties, when music was often racially segregated, this was quite an achievement. Sam was well aware of the problems, as is clear from his song, A change is gonna come. The change did come (to some extent, at least) though Sam, murdered aged just 33, did not live to see it.

Another important American hit, Only sixteen, fared slightly better than You send me in the UK despite being covered by Craig Douglas who took the song to the very top of the UK charts. Sam's version of Wonderful world, another huge American hit, again only registered in the UK top thirty at the time of its original release, though Brits grew to love this song, with Louis Armstrong and Herman's Hermits both having big hits in the sixties. Sam's version made number two in the UK when re-issued in 1986.

Sam finally achieved success in the UK when Chain gang, Cupid and Twisting the night away all made the top ten. Only two more UK hits followed - Another Saturday night (which Cat Stevens covered in the seventies) and Frankie and Johnny (not included here), both of which made the top thirty. However, Sam had many more (and bigger) hits in his homeland, where his music was better appreciated. There are many other great songs here, too numerous to mention.

This is a better compilation than the earlier one titled The man and his music, featuring more tracks, extensive liner notes and even better sound quality. Many of the songs are the same but there are a few differences, although all the essentials are on both collections.

If you enjoy Sam's music, this is the best compilation yet released. If you are new to his music, you are in for a real treat if you buy this. Sam's role in the development of soul music cannot be over-estimated.

Yet again the same team that brought the world that restoration has done this compliation of "Sam Cooke's" recordings from 1951-1964.
The mastering process was done by the awesome "Bob Ludwig",who has in the past done such re-issues as "Roxy Muisc's" and the solo recordings of "Bryan Ferry"(this "Mr Ludwig" did in 1999).

What they have released is a hybrid disc that has 2 layers of data,1 layer for playing on a standard C.D. player and the other layer for SACD players.
The sound quality that this has acheived is just jaw dropping it's so good, gone is the thin weedy sound of the past re-issues of this star's music,now the tracks have a warmer purer seductive sound that "Sam" voice was famous for.
The tracks sound like they were recorded just yesterday and not way back last century.

The song that opens the collection "Touch the hem of his Garment" recorded in 1956 and was written by the artist sets the tone for this anthology of 30 tracks, 24 of which "Sam" wrote "Twistin' the night Away" still makes me want to get up and dance every time I hear it, even more so with the clearer handclap sounds.
If you loved the sound of "Sam Cooke" before you will absolutely adore this collection, the details the listener can hear are incredible.
This collection is for soul fans everywhere,a must have for your music collection...