troubleman84
Proud Member
Ain't That Good News
Artist: Sam Cooke
Label: RCA Records
Genre: R&B, pop
Side one
1. "(Ain't That) Good News" – 2:30
2. "Meet Me At Mary's Place" – 2:44
3. "Good Times" – 2:28
4. "Rome (Wasn't Built In a Day)" (Cooke, Prudhomme) – 2:34
5. "Another Saturday Night" – 2:42
6. "Tennessee Waltz" (King, Stewart) – 3:12
Side two
1. "A Change Is Gonna Come" – 3:13
2. "Falling In Love" (Battiste) – 2:45
3. "Home (When Shadows Fall)" (Clarkson, Steeden) – 2:32
4. "Sittin' In the Sun" (Berlin) – 3:18
5. "There'll Be No Second Time" (White) – 3:03
6. "The Riddle Song" (Traditional) – 2:30
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Many have often credited four single individuals for the growth and transition of rhythm and blues from its origins mainly from a blues background into a gospel-pop melding later called "soul music". Among those four (Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson, James Brown and Sam Cooke), one individual may have had more to do with it than the other three: Chicago's Samuel L. Cook(e). First brought up in the church and a member of The Soul Stirrers, by 1964, Cooke had gone from one of the famed child prodigies of gospel to an innovative pop crooner after his transition to secular rock 'n' roll in the late 1950s. During this time, Cooke faced personal difficulties that began occurring as he began assuring control of his career, owning his own recordings, masters, building a production company and two successful recording labels, while also building up a massive crossover audience that was now began to open up to forms of black American music by acts in the Motown label as well as acts like Dionne Warwick and the Shirelles and Ray Charles. Sam Cooke was part of that crossover appeal. As he returned to a recording studio in late 1963, Cooke was still struggling over the death of his son and was affected by events that he saw on TV as the civil rights movement was picking up steam. Motivated by his gospel background, Cooke, who had begun to record more soulful material with the successful release of the blues-oriented Night Beat album earlier that year, was starting to include more gospel emulation in his music therefore bringing in the soul movement which would only begin to blossom in the following year. Recording a mixture of original material and cover versions of country and pop balladry material, he created a woven masterpiece with what turned out to be his final album, Ain't That Good News. Recorded between February of 1963 and January of 1964 in Los Angeles, Cooke had help with producers Hugo & Luigi and arranger Rene Hall who composed classical styled arrangements to mainly the ballads featured on side B of the album, while Cooke's old gospel group The Soul Stirrers help to add some gospel-inspired rock with "Meet Me at Mary's Place". Other songs that evoked the gospel spirit included "Ain't That Good News" (built upon the gospel hymn of the same name), "Good Times", his cover of "Tennessee Waltz" and, especially the ballad mainly registered as a civil rights anthem - "A Change Is Gonna Come". Other songs such as "Rome (Wasn't Built In a Day)" and the hit single "Another Saturday Night", which were recorded and released in 1963, bring out Cooke's then signature style while his covers of "Falling in Love" and "Home (When Shadows Fall)" show the mastery of him handling pop standards shortly after his second more successful stint at the Copacabana. Overall, this album shows what could've been for Cooke had he not faced his mortality on that December 1964 night.
My grade: A+
