Episode 2 of the series...
Sam Cooke - Night Beat
One of my personal favourite studio albums from Sam Cooke, recorded in 1963, just a year before he sadly passed away...
'Night Beat' is said to have come around from late sessions between Sam and his studio musicians, including Billy Preston AKA The 5th Beatle, who was just 16yr at the time of recording...
The small informal setting perhaps helps gives the album that intimate, bluesy feel that it posses... When listening to the album you can almost feel Sam and his friends vibing in the studio into the late hours of the night, maybe drinking and smoking and just throwing ideas around, playing with cords and vocals etc it makes for a great sounding album...
With the album's intimate vibe, Sam leaves himself pretty vulnerable and introspective throughout, such as on ‘Laughin’ & Clownin’ where he sings ‘Im laughing’ and a clownin/ just to keep from cryin’ and the song then ends with ‘I keep on laughin’ and a clownin’…. to take my mind off you’…
Another example of this is on ‘Fools Paradise’ where he sings ‘I often think of the life Ive led/And oh, its a wonder I aint dead/Drinking and gambling, staying out all night/Livin in a fools paradise’…
The album does end on a pretty uptempo song though, with ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ which has a pretty different vibe to the rest of the album… Its actually one of, if not the very last song he recorded before his death…
I feel the album is strangely over looked at times, its always had great reviews when talked about... it just seems not often enough!!
Check it out below:
Sam Cooke - Night Beat
One of my personal favourite studio albums from Sam Cooke, recorded in 1963, just a year before he sadly passed away...
'Night Beat' is said to have come around from late sessions between Sam and his studio musicians, including Billy Preston AKA The 5th Beatle, who was just 16yr at the time of recording...
The small informal setting perhaps helps gives the album that intimate, bluesy feel that it posses... When listening to the album you can almost feel Sam and his friends vibing in the studio into the late hours of the night, maybe drinking and smoking and just throwing ideas around, playing with cords and vocals etc it makes for a great sounding album...
With the album's intimate vibe, Sam leaves himself pretty vulnerable and introspective throughout, such as on ‘Laughin’ & Clownin’ where he sings ‘Im laughing’ and a clownin/ just to keep from cryin’ and the song then ends with ‘I keep on laughin’ and a clownin’…. to take my mind off you’…
Another example of this is on ‘Fools Paradise’ where he sings ‘I often think of the life Ive led/And oh, its a wonder I aint dead/Drinking and gambling, staying out all night/Livin in a fools paradise’…
The album does end on a pretty uptempo song though, with ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ which has a pretty different vibe to the rest of the album… Its actually one of, if not the very last song he recorded before his death…
I feel the album is strangely over looked at times, its always had great reviews when talked about... it just seems not often enough!!
Check it out below: