Shortly before his death at the hands of one of his lovers, Sam Cooke released his best album: Night Beat. Many of Cooke's albums are riddled with forced country-western tempos or dramatically over-produced swelling strings, crashing horns and backup singers. This album is Cooke's best for the simple fact that it lacks any of these blemishes.
The songs are well-chosen, each giving Cooke a chance to showcase the stunning power and control he had over his legendary smooth-as-silk voice. His extraordinarily expressive voice is dripping with so much anguish on every song that you can't help but believe his pain, making this one of the most heart-wrenching albums ever made.
The effectively understated instrumentation on Night Beat is a big part of its success. Most of the songs consist of a simple, quiet bass-line, subtle drumming that always compliments and never overpowers Cooke and some graceful piano or guitar to set the mood. Sitting at the organ is Billy Preston, sometimes known as "the fifth Beatle" for his prolific work with the group (Get Back was credited upon its release to "The Beatles with Billy Preston," one of the only times a fifth person was acknowledged). But Sam's flawless vocals are what stick with you. Every track on Night Beat is a classic; if you keep only one Sam Cooke album in your collection, this should be it.
For the audiophiles out there, this album was recorded on RCA Victor during one of the label's last great years, making it one of the best-sounding (from a technical sense) soul albums ever recorded: the separation on the soundstage and the dynamic range and depth of the mid-range sound is nothing short of astounding.
It's time somebody start posting some comments here. Great recommendation. Matter fact: all the albums I've been listening here are good stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the drops.
Marlowe
thanks, I'll keep em comin.
ReplyDeleteDesde España, muchas, muchas gracias, hace tiempo que buscaba este disco.
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