Sam Cooke – Night Beat (180g Vinyl LP)

Sam Cooke, inventor and true King of Soul, recorded Night Beat in 1963, an album that was more bluesy and moodier than we had seen before from Cooke. But thanks to his transcendent voice we’re never sad when we listen to this album. Melancholy and nostalgia might rear their heads, but there is an uplifting quality to Sam Cooke that has never been surpassed.

Night Beat is an album that approaches the music at a slow pace but is never lazy. It is easy-going without losing its keen sensibilities. Sam Cooke is delicately framed by his other musicians, barely needing any accompaniment on “Lost And Lookin” and “Trouble Blues”, while adding some honest grittiness to “Little Red Rooster” and “I Lost Everything”.