Night Beat (Sam Cooke album)

Night Beat is the tenth studio album by American singer Sam Cooke, released in August 1963 by RCA Victor.

Night Beat
Studio album by
Sam Cooke
ReleasedAugust 1963
RecordedFebruary 22–23, 25 1963
StudioRCA Victor's Music Center of the World
(Hollywood)
GenreRhythm and blues, lounge[1]
Length37:51
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerHugo & Luigi
Sam Cooke chronology
Mr. Soul
(1963)		 Night Beat
(1963)		 3 Great Guys
(1964)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[1]
MusicHound R&B5/5[3]

The album title originated from late-night recording sessions by Cooke and a quartet of studio musicians in February 1963. It has been featured in "best-of" lists by contemporary music critics and regarded as one of Cooke's best.

Background

Cooke and his musicians—pianist Ray Johnson, organist Billy Preston (who was only 16 at the time of recording), lead guitarist Barney Kessell, alternating drummers Hal Blaine and Ed Hall, bassist Cliff Hils and Clif White, and René Hall on rhythm guitar—cut Night Beat in three days during late-night recording sessions at RCA Victor Studios in Hollywood in February 1963.[4] "I Lost Everything", "Get Yourself Another Fool" and "Trouble Blues" were laid down on February 22, with the group returning, sans Kessell, the following day to record "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen", "Mean Old World", "Little Red Rooster" and "Laughin' and Clownin'".[4] The last recording session for Night Beat took place on February 25, when the same group, sans Hall and Kessell, reunited to commit "Lost and Lookin'", "Please Don't Drive Me Away", "You Gotta Move", "Fool's Paradise" and "Shake Rattle and Roll" to tape.[4]

Reception

According to John Bush of Allmusic, "Saddled with soaring strings and vocal choruses for maximum crossover potential, Sam Cooke's solo material often masked the most important part of his genius—his glorious voice—so the odd small-group date earns a special recommendation in his discography".[2] He speculated that had Cooke not died prematurely, "there would've been several more sessions like this, but Night Beat is an even richer treasure for its rarity."[2] Al Kooper of Goldmine wrote: "This is intimate Sam Cooke and his favorite musicians having some genuine fun in the studio, with obviously no eye toward ramming up the pop charts ... Each song is like another moody painting always in the appropriate, tasteful frame."[5]

The Guardian included it on their 2007 list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die", writing: "[Cooke] brought a spiritual intensity to every cute mainstream confection he recorded, but his beautiful voice was never more mesmerizing than on this hushed and gracious final album."[6]

Track listing

All songs conducted by René Hall

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen"Traditional; arranged by Sam Cooke3:22
2."Lost and Lookin'"James W. Alexander, Lowell Jordan2:09
3."Mean Old World"Cooke3:44
4."Please Don't Drive Me Away"Charles Brown, Jesse Ervin2:12
5."I Lost Everything"Ella Tate3:19
6."Get Yourself Another Fool"Ernest Monroe Tucker, Frank A. Haywood [7]4:00
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little Red Rooster"Willie Dixon2:50
2."Laughin' and Clownin'"Cooke3:34
3."Trouble Blues"Brown3:18
4."You Gotta Move"Cooke2:35
5."Fool's Paradise"Johnny Fuller, Robert Geddins, David Avid2:32
6."Shake, Rattle and Roll"Charles Calhoun3:22

Personnel

All credits adapted from The RCA Albums Collection (2011) liner notes.[4]

Notes
  1. Christgau, Robert (October 2005). "Sam Cooke". Blender. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  2. Allmusic review
  3. Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh Freedom; McFarlin, Jim, eds. (1998). "Sam Cooke". MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1578590264.
  4. The RCA Albums Collection (liner notes). Sam Cooke. US: RCA Records/Legacy Recordings. 2011. 88697898702.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Cooper, Al (1985). "Night Beat review". Goldmine. 48.
  6. "1000 albums to hear before you die". The Guardian. November 17, 2007. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  7. "Get Yourself Another Fool". musicnotes.com. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
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