Night Beat
The title implies a party record, but much of this bluesiest of Sam Cooke albums is downbeat stuff, as the master adapts the gospel standard "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," shakes his head at a "Mean Old World," and picks covers like "Trouble Blues" and "I Lost Everything." By the grace of his voice, a thousand interpretive shadings, and utterly gorgeous stripped-down arrangements, Cooke never loses himself or the listener in despair. Still, this is serious stuff. Fans of Aretha Franklin's Atlantic days and Frank Sinatra's at Capitol will cherish this reissue.--Rickey Wright