Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Over the years there have been umpteen compilations featuring the work of legendary gospel-cum-soul singer Sam Cooke with this 2010 effort from budget label Go Entertainment being a particularly sumptuous one. Split over three discs, 75 tracks reflect the breadth and depth of the man's career ranging from his time with gospel vocal group the Soul Stirrers to when he crossed over and started having mainstream success. Whilst the casual listener will be familiar with hits like "Only Sixteen", "You Send Me" and "Everybody Likes To Cha Cha Cha", this compilation goes refreshingly deep and touches on tracks that often get left on the fringes. As a result, forays into big band territory ("I've Got A Right To Sing The Blues" and a fine version of Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away From Me", for example) showcase a more mature side to Cooke's work whilst keeping things upbeat and snappy. Cooke has one of the finest voices ever to have graced the popular music scene but even he struggles to turn ill-advised fluff like "One Hour Ahead Of The Posse" and the occult-endorsing "The Gypsy" into anything you'd want to hear again although his interpretations of well-worn standards like "Moonlight In Vermont", "That Lucky Old Sun" and "God Bless The Child" are very nearly up there with the best. Sandwiched in between his secular output on each disc are delightfully lengthy gospel sets from his Soul Stirrers period with sublime stripped-back numbers like "Jesus Gave Me Water", "Touch The Hem Of His Garment" and "Jesus Paid The Debt" all standing out as classics in their own right whilst adding some spiritual substance to proceedings. Undoubtedly full and varied, this compilation nonetheless suffers from the absence of Cooke's greatest hits - "What A Wonderful World", "Chain Gang", "Cupid" and the incomparable "A Change Is Gonna Come". But there is enough here to prove that Cooke and his velvety voice were consistently on top form throughout his tragically short-lived career, and with a budget price the fact that there are no sleeve notes, dates of recording, etc, etc, can be easily overlooked.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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