Archive Review: Sam Cooke’s The Rhythm & the Blues (1996)

Sam Cooke is often forgotten during any discussion of the great R & B masters. Whether this is due to his late ‘50s break from the gospel tradition that nurtured him, and the resulting string of chart-topping pop hits that was to follow his entry into the secular music world, or due to the fact that Cooke worked outside of the soul factories of the era, R & B labels like Stax, Hi-Lo, and Atlantic that have their own passionate defenders; who can say. Either way, Cooke”s presence during the late 1950s and early ‘60s was immense, his recorded output magnificent, well deserving of another look.

The recently-released The Rhythm and the Blues is that long-awaited second look at Cooke’s vocal abilities. As pointed out in Cliff White’s extensive and appreciated liner notes, Cooke was a prolific singles songwriter, creating some of the most enduring moments that pop music has to offer. On album, however, which the conventional wisdom of the time declared must be aimed towards an adult audience, Cooke often forsook his own songwriting skills in favor of jazz and blues classics. It is from this background that The Rhythm and the Blues has been created.

The Rhythm and the Blues is primarily drawn from three early sixties Cooke albums: My Kind of Blues, the classic Mr. Soul, and Night Beat. Many of the cuts culled from these three discs showcase the kind of big band arrangement given R & B material in that day and time, with lush strings and sensual horns backing Cooke’s already formidable vocals. There’s little of anything really new and surprising to be found here for the long-time Cooke fan, although The Rhythm and the Blues stands well on its own as an introduction to the singer’s non-pop charting material.

Cooke’s wonderful vocal interpretation of classic gems like “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” or “Cry Me A River” – his voice swollen with passion, silky with soul – easily stand with the masters of the genre, serving to firmly place Sam Cooke’s name alongside the great performers of R & B, where it belongs. (Sony Legacy Recordings, released 1996)

Review originally published by R.A.D! Review and Discussion of Rock ‘n’ Roll zine

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