This set is near essential to fans of Sam Cooke, despite the fact that it contains none of his gospel recordings for Specialty Records or any of the work from the final year of his career (owned by ABKCO Records). Scattered every few minutes across this four-disc collection are reminders of just how far ahead of all existing musical forms Cooke was, creating sounds that stretched the definitions of song genres as they were understood and created completely new categories. Indeed, he was so successful that it's easy to underestimate the impact and importance of many of his early triumphs. "You Send Me," which opens this set, may seem today like the safest, tamest pop music, but in 1957 it was a genre-bending single, a new kind of R&B/pop music hybrid and one that quietly shook the foundations of the music business when it hit number one.
Disc one offers a fresh appreciation of the best of the early Keen Records sides, drawing on the best of nearly two years of singles and the strongest of Cooke's LP tracks in the best account to date of his early career in popular music. Disc two begins Cooke's RCA years, and the quality of his singles, which clearly and easily bridge the gap between genres, races, and generations, improves dramatically. The development of Cooke's writing and singing and his growing confidence and range culminate with disc four, which encompasses the Night Beat album and Cooke's live performance from the Harlem Square Club. The sound is extraordinary throughout, expansive, rich-textured, and vividly detailed; a choice earlier CD release, The Man and His Music, by comparison, sounds thin and tinny.
Disc 1:
1. You Send Me 2:42
2. Summertime (Pt. 1) 2:23
3. For Sentimental Reasons 2:40
4. Desire Me 2:27
5. Lonely Island 2:31
6. You Were Made For Me 2:59
7. Win Your Love For Me 2:34
8. Love You Most Of All 2:19
9. Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha 2:43
10. No One Can Take Your Place 2:22
11. Only Sixteen 2:14
12. With You 2:38
13. Crazy She Calls Me 2:35
14. I Got A Right To Sing The Blues 2:34
15. Comes Love 2:30
16. Ain't Nobody's Business 2:27
17. Little Things You Do 2:17
18. There, I've Said It Again 2:01
19. When I Fall In Love 2:45
20. Let's Go Steady Again 2:33
21. (What A) Wonderful World 2:08
Disc 2:
1. Chain Gang 2:40
2. I Belong To Your Heart 2:19
3. Teenage Sonata 2:43
4. Love Me 2:23
5. Sad Mood (Unreleased Version) 2:34
6. If I Had You (I'd Be Happy) 2:25
7. You Belong To Me 2:46
8. Sad Mood 2:39
9. Tenderness 2:22
10. That's It - I Quit - I'm Movin' On 2:38
11. Hold On 2:49
12. Cupid 2:37
13. Tenderness (Unreleased Version) 2:27
14. Don't Get Around Much Any More 3:13
15. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out 3:26
16. Baby Won't You Please Come Home 2:14
17. Trouble In Mind 3:01
18. Out In The Cold Again 2:26
19. Exactly Like You 2:10
20. Since I Met You Baby 3:05
21. I'm Just A Lucky So And So 3:17
22. But Not For Me 2:34
23. You're Always On My Mind 2:18
24. (Don't Fight It) Feel It 2:02
25. It's All Right 2:47
26. Twistin' The Night Away 2:42
27. One More Time 2:27
28. Don't Cry On My Shoulder 2:45
Disc 3:
1. Somebody's Gonna Miss Me 2:45
2. Somebody Have Mercy 3:06
3. Sugar Dumpling (Original Version) 2:18
4. Nothin' Can Change This Love (Unreleased Version) 2:16
5. Talkin' Trash 2:15
6. Movin' and Groovin' 2:56
7. Soothe Me 2:19
8. Having A Party 2:36
9. Bring It On Home To Me 2:45
10. A Whole Lotta Woman 2:33
11. I'm Gonna Forget About You 2:30
12. Nothin' Can Change This Love 2:39
13. Baby, Baby, Baby 2:30
14. Send Me Some Lovin' 2:48
15. All The Way 3:30
16. Smoke Rings 3:26
17. I Wish You Love 2:25
18. Driftin' Blues 3:18
19. Little Girl 2:37
20. Cry Me A River 2:49
21. These Foolish Things 4:01
22. Frankie And Johnnie 2:46
23. I Ain't Gonna Cheat On You No More 2:25
24. Another Saturday Night (Alternate Take) 2:43
25. Love Will Find A Way 2:18
26. Cool Train (First Stereo Release) 2:34
Disc 4:
1. Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen 3:23
2. Lost And Lookin' 2:13
3. Mean Old World 3:48
4. Please Don't Drive Me Away 2:15
5. I Lost Everything 3:26
6. Get Yourself Another Fool 4:07
7. Little Red Rooster 2:53
8. Laughin' And Clownin' 3:38
9. Trouble Blues 3:24
10. You Gotta Move 2:40
11. Fool's Paradise 2:35
12. Shake, Rattle And Roll 3:29
13. Intro/(Don't Fight It)Feel It 3:51
14. Chain Gang (Live) 3:12
15. Cupid 2:45
16. It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons 5:13
17. Twistin' The Night Away 4:17
18. Somebody Have Mercy 7:16
19. Bring It On Home To Me 3:04
20. Nothin' Can Change This Love 3:46
21. Having A Party 5:25
