An Extremely Romantic Album
I purchased this CD for myself as either a Christmas gift or a birthday gift a couple of years ago, and it made me want to get more albums by Sam Cooke. So I purchased Keep Moving On, which was also wonderful. I was so in love with The Man Who Invented Soul that I bought myself a portrait of Sam Cooke, which is still in my room. This album almost made me lose my mind because it felt as though he was alive, and I wanted to meet him. The feeling I get whenever I listen to this album is priceless. It is an extremely romantic album and a great way to spend some time alone. When he died, the music industry really lost an outstanding musician. May his soul rest in peace.

Mr. Soul
This is the perfect set for anyone who wants to explore the works of Sam Cooke. Wonderfully put together.

The Man Who Invented Soul***Excellent***
Wonderful music by the best songer that ever lived, period.

One of a kind Voice(Angelic)
Sam Cooke is the man. I know that Sam is an original Idol. Marvin Gaye, Johnny Taylor, Otis Redding, Ronald Isley, Smokey Robinson and many more singers idolized Sam Cooke. The man who invented the soft sweet angelic notes. For instance he first created the Whoa a whoa a whoa. And it is so smoothe. Sam is a man that can sing both rough and smoothe. If you put sam against a lot of singers today they would have to go back to pushing grocery carts or pumping gas. Even though Sam loved to sing in the old style like nate king cole he also would sing pop,gospel,rock and blues showing he is versatile. If Sam was living today who would still be an Idol. Sam Cooke the man,the legend.

Sam fought the law(yers) but the law(yers) won
A pretty audacious title for this box. Does it deliver? Frankly no: There are certainly some of his best tracks here that showcase both his smooth soaring side and the times when he'd allow a little sandpaper into his voice. But it also fails to give you any idea where that great voice got its seasoning (none of his Specialty era gospel material) and turns away for the most part from the grittier material it seems Cooke would have aimed at had a hotel manager's gun not claimed his life. In addition, the recognition of the wonderful instrument that was Sam's voice should be paired with the knowledge that his material wasn't always worthy of it. (This set would probably be fine as a well-chosen 2 CD set)

What's missing here? His time with the Soul Stirrers, plenty of songs that were Top 40 hits on the pop or R&B chart (#1 R&B I'll Come Running Back to You, R&B Top 10 hits Little Red Rooster (you get a live version instead),Shake, and A Change is Gonna Come, as well as Ain't That Good News, Good Times, Tennessee Waltz, Cousin Of Mine, and It's Got The Whole World Shakin', all of which hit Top 40 on one or both charts. The version of "Another Saturday Night" you get here is an alternate take instead of the 45RPM version. It would also seem essential to get his first bid at mainstream appeal with "Lovable". (He released it under the name Dale Cook to try and avoid offending his gospel fans.) Most of these are missing because of lawyers (read the review by compilation producer Paul Williams for the in-depth explanation).

The last disc is the whole albums of NIGHT BEAT and LIVE AT THE HARLEM SQUARE CLUB. It feels more like a record company cash grab from Cooke connoisseurs than an attempt to be comprehensive. Cherrypicking a few live cuts would be the better route.

Soundwise, I can't argue with the remastering. It all sounds stunning. If you're a mono purist, be advised that stereo mixes were used on this set.

BOTTOM LINE:
Cooke is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and deserves better than this. Until the lawyers can get in agreement, Cooke will not have a definitive box set. There's a phenomenal 2 CD box set on Cooke waiting to be made. Until then, most Cooke fans will get the best overview on the remastered SACD audio PORTRAIT OF A LEGEND (31 tracks,B00009N1ZV). It distills Cooke's greatness in a single disc and includes nearly everything mentioned as "missing" above.

3 1/2 stars