Live At The Harlem Square Club

Amazing energy

Never listened to this but just recently heard about it. I love Sam Cooke, so I’m excited to check his out. Very fun! Cool to be able to hear the faster, raw, live versions. But I will say that it’s not as listenable. Things seem rushed. Might have to go 4 as much as I love Sam.

Sam Cooke is a legend. I already own his box set.

What a voice, what a band, what a sound, what a crowd!

god i need to listen to more soul 4.5 ⭐️

väldigt glatt, coola låtar, redigt bra sångröst

One of the better live albums to be included on the list. 3.5/5

Fun album, movin and groovin all along. Really takes you back to a time and a place in history

Short, sweet, and to the point. This performance is a real clambake. It sounds like this show was done in a very small, intimate club which would have been a blast to be at. Love these old soul/jazzy songs and the energy and swagger that Sam Cooke possesses here. Could definitely start my day with this album every morning.

This was so much fun, there’s something so fascinating and charming to me about live recordings of music from the 60s and before, great energy.

Hella fun live soul, love hearing the crowd and the banter. Cooke is great and so is his backing band.

Great

at first i was like uhhh a live album??? we sure about this? but it's actually good. can't believe this was sealed away in the disney vault for 20 years before being released, I guess because the audience was having too much fun? wild favorites: soul twist/introduction, feel it (don't fight it), chain gang, it's all right/for sentimental reasons

Fun, lively, and good! A great listen from beginning to end.

A truly soulful performance

Sam!

Felt like I was there - great album!

Amazing energy!

Such a unique record!

Fun! Would listen again.

Good energy, fun music, killer voice.

This just sounds like the best party to be at

Live swinging music, super fun. It's fun to astral project yourself back to that club with the sites and smells and sounds.

Top 3 Songs: 1 - Twistin' The Night Away (6) 2 - Having A Party (10) 3 - Cupid (4)

Really fun album. Hadn't listened to much Cooke but will definitely return to this one and others. 4.5/5

1963 rok, świetny live album nagrany w surowej wersji, w tle cały czas słychać głosy publiczności która dopełnia całości. Piękny głos z charakterystyczną chrypą. Feel it oraz Chain Gang od których zaczyna się album to dwie świetne piosenki, niesamowicie skoczne. Później następuje zwolnienie tempa i wg mnie artyście nie udaje się wrócić do tego poziomu. 8/10 jak na pierwszy oceniony album? Pewnie drugi raz już nie przesłucham.

Some classics on here. Wouldn't necessarily seek this out, but enjoyed it.

A fun live album with some great songs.

Sam Cooke has such a powerful voice. He really wails on this album. And the performance is loose. His spoken intros lead right into the songs and he starts a lot of call-and-response with the audience. Great energy bottled in this recording.

I absolutely love the intro speech. "Don't fight it, let's feel it." What a great kickoff. Lots of these songs are ones from my childhood. I love Sam Cooke and I know my mom did too even though I'm sure I didn't learn his name for years after hearing him through her stereo in the basement. It's a pleasure to go back and listen to some of these in a super focused manner and not just in passing like I normally have in my adult life. Some definitely thankfully dated monologue-ing going on between some of the tracks man sheesh: "when someone says your girlfriend did something or your wife did something, don't go home and hit her" Lots of good singers in the crowd, they sound great! I love this record. It's so good and it makes me feel good. Solid 4/5. The energy is such a highlight.

not a fan of live albums, this one is ok i guess. Still prefer the songs in the studio version though :D

So good and fun

This is obviously a classic recording with excellent performances of many classic and well known Sam Cooke songs. It's so baked in to the culture of what everyone knows now, it feels like it's been around forever. Tough to give this anything less than 4 stars.

Bumps in the whip.

I really enjoyed this. I think I might enjoy the studio versions of songs better, but he's got a great voice and good songs. I'll have to listen to more

Nonstop grooves on this one. Dude must have been one hell of a showman.

Sam's energy and chemistry with both the band and crowd is amazing. He's just electric. The songs are proven standards, and Bring It on Home is a solid tent pole, but the live flow of the setlist is well done. The back 5 basically are one big medley

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: Yeah, probably the best vocalist of his time and he brings life to everything he touches, hard to believe this is a live performance of 40+ years ago Favourite song: Track 3 - Chain Gang

Altijd genieten

The joy from Sam Cooke as he hits the stage coupled with the frenetic energy of the crowd makes listening back a real pleasure. This is where the performer and the crowd feed off of each other, the intensity builds and it's clearly a night to remember for everyone in the room. I don't feel there is anything particularly unique about this performance. Cooke does what he does and the band sit in the background supporting the man. The highlights aren't the musicianship or special interpretations of Cooke's songs. The highlight comes from the energy in the room, the rawness of the performance, how Cooke interacts with individuals and the whole of the people that are clearly having the time of their lives.

mysigt, borde lyssna på igen! for sentimental reasons var grym!

Intento analizarlo como si lo escuchara en el momento que surgió... y pienso en la crudeza que tiene su voz, es un chabón que canta con el corazon. El sonido te lleva a estar ahí en el público, esa mugre hermosa con olor a whisky pegada en el suelo y zapatos. Por más que se escuche bajito, quedo maravillado con el groove del batero. Me gustaron mucho los coros también. El agitando y su juego con la gente es divino (Chain Gang). Siempre me pareció loco los discos en vivo en este tipo de rankings o listas, tendría que existir otra lista paralela, pero me imagino que algo del marco y que sea en Harlem en esa época dice mucho más que un disco de estudio, además que antes se pensaban discos en vivo que no eran únicamente un compilado de temas ya grabados anteriormente.

Recording quality is low, and the mic setup is atrocious, but there is an energy that pours through this thing. Rnb and soul in the classic nightclub style.

Loose and easy-swinging, this set from 1963 captures Sam in fine, upbeat form. His playful call outs to audience and band alike show a performer in full control, and the 36 minutes captured here enjoyably fly by. My somewhat measured rating reflects the inherent difficulty with live sets - the songs aren't the familiar versions, but (in this case) none of the performances shed new light on the songs themselves. Yes, the set is engaging, and yes, the performances are good, but there's nothing particularly special here.

An energetic live album with some great tunes that I’ve always enjoyed but has never quite fully resonated with me for whatever reason

Smoooth

Truly Mr. Soul. He takes basic song chord progressions and turns them into lively uplifting songs that are really elevated and enhanced in the live setting.

fun voice!

Genre: Jazz Recording: Live

That ENERGY! Sam Cooke killed it.

Soul. Directo.

I really had fun with this one & reminded me of hanging out with my grandma. Fun cleaning house music.

Such a good live Album. So much power behind the music.

Frábær stemmari

What a voice, and the man has a ton of energy throughout the live show. Great songs too, missing Another Saturday Night though. The only negative here for me is he changes the cadence of some of the songs from the studio versions, so it's hard to get in a groove to. When this album was over, I turned on Sam Cooke's greatest hits to hear the originals.

Nice to hear Cooke run through some of his classic pieces. He sounded very enthusiastic, playing for the crowd. HIs interactions with them didn't seem forced, he was having a good time, which came off infectiously. Great stuff.

I didn't love the album on first listen. Didn't hate it either, but I didn't think it sounded that great. The audience sounded grainy and far off and didn't add to my listening experience. So I went and listened to a bunch of Sam Cooke studio albums to remind me what his voice really sounds like when not limited by live sound quality. Solid of course. And when I came back to this album, I appreciated him and his voice much more. I didn't even really notice the audience. Not the most electric live performance I've ever heard, but he was still pretty darn good. Could've done without the bit where he said let's get romantic for a second and then story told about going home and not hitting your woman but whispering sweet nothings instead. BB King story told something similar on his live album a couple years later. WTF?

I do love a good live album, and this is a really good live album. Sam Cooke and his band put on an entertaining show full of energy and enthusiasm. A perfect album for when you’re feeling a little down and need some positive music to bring your spirits back up.

muy bueno

Mr Soul has riz for days. The songs themselves are quite middle-of-the-road but I'd have loved to have been there for this recording.

I felt like I was actually in a small, smokey club listening to Sam Cooke, and half the time he was looking right at me.

First live album I’ve really enjoyed. 😂

What a party

1 flaw. There's not enough. This Man has soul and grit. The quality of live recording is excellent for its age too. Brilliant listening.

Rating: 7/10 One of the best live albums ever, king of soul. What a voice!

Great energy on the recorded show

album maravilhoso, a voz dele é incrivel!! minhas favs: cupid nothing can change this love medley: it’s all right / for sentimental reasons twistin’ the night away

Boppity bop bop. Never listened to Sam Cooke before.

Bop

The live aspect of this album is great. Would have loved to have been there.

What a performer! Dude made me wanna love my wife better lol. Like a guide on how to love a woman. Guy gives it 100%

Not really what I would normally listen to, but as far as live albums go this is fantastic. Really warm sound, and a nice amount of crowd noise. Sam Cooke's voice is great and it sounds like he put on a brilliant show. It's quite funny that the label thought this was too "raw and gritty" for release in the 60s. Maybe it was the bit where he asks the crowd to wave around their handkerchiefs that pushed it over the line.

4.25

This would have been a spectacular concert.

Sam was a hell of an entertainer

Otis Redding was a huge admirer of Sam Cooke and this live album showcases why - masterful performer, beautiful vocalist, soulful delivery. Where Redding was gritty and soulful, Cooke is clean and soulful - note perfect, still from the heart, with an audience enraptured, practically eating out of his hands. And damn it if Cooke's Bring It On Home to Me isn't a near perfect song. And whilst this isn't a perfect album it is pretty special and a remarkable document in the story of soul.

Genres: Soul Formed: Chicago, Solo Career 1957 Run time: 10 songs, 36 min 33 sec What a wonderful velvety voice! This live recording shows what a great rapport he had with the audience. Great energy and fantastic material. There is a long list of great songs from this and other albums. What a gift he shared with us. In 1964, the great man’s career was cut short when he was shot and killed by the manager of a motel in LA. The courts ruled Cooke's death to be a justifiable homicide. I can’t help but feel if he was a successful white singer, it would have been a very different ending. Being part of the civil rights movement probably didn’t help.

Beaucoup aimé l’énergie du spectacle, du live – quoique, parfois, le côté « work the crowd » tourne à vide quand il s’étire, sur un tel enregistrement. Entraînant, joyeux même quand les émotions sont profondes.

Loved this. What a gem! Can't believe I'd not heard it before.

Today I learned that I prefer live Sam Cooke.

Nice old-timey music

Leuk sfeertje, en dat merk je ook aan de reacties van het publiek

Man, that's really solid. Sam Cooke sure knew how to work a crowd. Do I wish they'd included a studio album from Cooke? Yes, absolutely. But I think I understand the desire to show off the performer side of Sam. He's truly something else.

Lindo, jazzero tranca.

A great live album. A wonderful performance and you can feel the atmosphere. Terrific.

-All very catchy and nice 50s/early 60s style songs. -No complaints, fun to listen to, not mind-blowing

I was really impressed by this album. Sam interacts with the crowd a lot more than I was expecting, and is very charismatic and seems to be having a good time. He feels like he can sing all of his songs effortlessly, and still be energetic the entire time. I really like his voice, and his songs are fun and entertaining. Favorite Tracks: Chain Gang, Cupid, Somebody Have Mercy

Talented.

Fun jams! Good to have a live recording in this mix. Favorite track: Twistin the Night Away

Live albums are very hit or miss for me, but this is one of the good ones. I like that it feels raw & unpolished. I don't know where I stand with the circumstances surrounding his death though. Did he attempt to rape a girl or are the conspiracy theories right? I don't want to dismiss rape allegations, but I do believe things should have been investigated better.

Lekker hoor

Live at the Harlem Square Club is an authentic piece of music history. Old classics performed in their heyday often don't sound as good to the modern ear. So listening to is has to be done as a historical activity. In that context, this is 1001 list worthy.

Very good live album: good recording, lively atmosphere, solid band, energetic vocal performance. The lyrics are a bit annoying.

I love the energy of this live performance.

Blissfully smooth

sam cooke's voice is classic

It's hard to rate live albums too highly for me because if it's bad I'd rather listen to the studio songs, but if it's good then I'd rather have been there. This was definitely the latter. Just seems like it was a fun time.

Great sounding record, as good as a greatest hits if it only had What A Wonderful World!

Music is a bit too honky tonky. +1 for It’s All Right and Bring It On Home To Me these are certified bangers.

It's often called "sweet" soul music for a reason, as this recording makes abundantly clear. What SC says from the stage is not to be fully trusted as the tempo differences between the fast ones and the slow ones are simply not that great. He's fully committed, but smoother and more genteel than say James Brown. There's an innocence and ebullience that's easy to like and infectious (cue the crowd noise); this is the stuff of which Saturday nights were made for a generation of Americans that largely got us started on this musical journey.

Didn't know Sam Cooke before this but after listening to the album, many songs sounded very familiar. Loved the Jazz and his voice is so good and clear.

Ordinarily, I feel like I should really dig this album, but it didn’t live up to what it could have been for me. I think I just don’t love this kind of early rock and roll stuff, but it’s a solid album for sure

i'm glad he doesn't have leukemia. sounded like a right ole knees up in there.

Today's album. The track Somebody Have Mercy has a phenomenal line towards the end. It's live, so I doubt an official lyric, but it's well worth checking out.

Ik dacht dit wordt weer zo'n typisch snobistisch plaatje, maar het swingt lekker en sam cooke heeft een dijk van een stem. Muziek die je vrolijk stemt, een uitstekende opkikker!

Solid listen. Everything was well performed, the band was tight. Sam Cooke was definitely on top of his performing game. A downside would be some of the lackluster tunes from the singers perspective and would have loved to hear a band let loose a bit and do some extended breaks and improvisation. But dancey. Regardless, performance was good, the audience was into it and the quality of recording is excellent for a live album from the time period.

I really want to be at this show. Really love the laughter and yelling of crowd interaction. Great incidental vocals! Counts off “ah 1 ah 2 ah put it anywhere” lol. Improvises “It ain’t that leukemia” on Somebody. Vocals are impeccable. Edits between songs are a little abrupt at times. Its almost all I could want from a live soul party record. Fun, free, on-point. can almost feel the heat from the room. A lot of insight to Sam’s sense of humor, and a more satisfying/revealing listen than album cuts in many cases. Glad to know this album. Would rank along side James Brown Live at The Apollo. Thumbs up. 👍

very good, loves the vocals but i don’t understand how the intro is the 4th most streamed

electrifying performance, definitely one of the best live rnb albums, and albums in general, that ive ever listened to, clears live at the apollo by james brown. cooke's vocals are amazing, actually insane that they thought this wasnt good enough to release. white pipo 🤦‍♂️

Sounds like a good gig!

No, I don't think I will live at the Harlem Square Club

Sam Cooke’s voice is even better live

It's a pretty cool album. It's from a time in American History when POC and Socialists derived an actually solidarity. Class warfare is Race warfare. Legendary Soul music. Legendary set.

Excellent live recording for its era!!

Great energy and great songs. Good stuff!

I was introduced to Sam Cooke through animal house and I’ve enjoyed his music ever since. His music evokes memories as if I was in high school 40 years before I was born. This was a good live album too and twistin and bring it on home were the standouts obviously

Maybe one of the few albums that is likely better live than if it were studio recorded, you can definitely feel the energy. None of the big tracks that I know were on this, but it was a pleasant energetic listen.

Love Sam Cooke, this is a really good live album.

I don’t know why, but I don't enjoy live albums. Other than that this was great.

good

Great rock n roll It's a pity I heard the 2005 release which has the crowd cut back, lessening the live feel of the album but still rockin'

Definitely would have been killer to be there live. Great album.

Lovely. You can see everyone is having a good time

Really cool actually, very nice music.

Good fun.

you know I'm a sucker for old school soul. And a live album to boot

Très bon album live. Très bonne musique soul. Honnêtement divertissant et le genre d'album live qui vaut la peine. Il faut que je familiarise plus avec lui.

Amazingly clear vocals that really cut through the live mix. Excellent right band that really starts grove by the end of the opening tune. You can hear how good he would have been as a performer just from the vocals. Guitar is clearer than typical for this era, especially for a live recording.

First Sam Cooke album. I have heard the name before, and I have heard a few of his singles in passing, but this is the first occasion where I listened to an album. The first thing I noticed was the energy in the venue, followed by how raw the production quality is, contrasted by the clean instrumentals. Cooke certainly has a way with words as he carries the energy between songs. In the entire 38 minute run time, I don't think the energy slowed at all. In fact, I was hoping to hear a few more songs before it was all said and done. As mentioned in another review, this album was recorded in January 1963 (just two years before his death), but released in 1985. According to the wikipedia, the record label did not want to tarnish Cooke's pop-soul reputation by releasing the record. They deemed it too raw sounding.

I really enjoyed this album. Truly an album with some amazing Soul vibes mixed in with some African American gospel and topped off with some organic R&B. My only complaint is that there wasn’t a lot of songs. Ps: As a history major I enjoyed the little lesson I learned; “originally recorded in the 60s but not released until the 80s”

Awesome version of bring it on home to me, I absolutely love Cupid and thought this chain gang was cool too

Enjoyed, probably 5* if it was the studio version

Enjoyed it.

Love these old live rock and roll albums that pop up on this list now and again. Just a great time. Electric energy. Shirt and sweet.

favourite tracks - feel it - cupid - nothing can change this love - chain gang a good listen and didn't have issues listening to it from beginning to end. 4.2

what a vibe

My parents were Sam Cooke fans so very familiar with a lot of his music. Even have an old 45 hanging on the wall of our rock n roll/Elvis bathroom. Anyway, thought he sounded great live with awesome energy. How awesome would it have been to see this concert!! Solid 3.5 for me. Probably closer to 4 Really liked entire album, but my favorites, Bring it on home to me, Nothing can change this love and Somebody have Mercy If you're a fan, Do NOT listen to the podcast Disgraceland, about him.

4 So what I'm learning from this list is that live soul albums were something missing from my life. Both this and James Brown Live at the Apollo have been absolutely fantastic records with artist/crowd synergy unlike anything I've ever heard before on a live album. Sam Cooke sounds amazing here, and I can only imagine how much fun being at the show must have been - It almost made me nostalgic for a period that existed 35 years before my birth. Despite trying to review each album in a vacuum, I was originally gonna write about how the circumstances of Cooke's death tainted the album a bit for me, but after doing some further research, I've learned the matter is more open-ended than I originally believed. While originally on the fence about re-listening, I did again afterwards was able to enjoy in a much more objective manner... and I think I'll be listening again. All said and done, this album really just feels like a good time for good times' sake. Favorite songs: Feel It (Don't Fight It), Cupid, It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons, Bring it on Home to Me

It was fun to listen to, but did not have as much impact on me as Miles Davis' album. Twistin' the Night Away is still one of my favourite songs :)

Great soul!!

Solid performance - maybe too much crowd noise in the recording but it was from the sixties

I liked the music but not really a fan of live albums.

Oh yeah, here’s an album I can really twiddle my handkerchief to!

Great live recording, felt like I was there in the club

Usually I'm not a fan of live recordings at all - but this one has me convinced in some ways. I've always liked Sam Cooke as a great singer - but not overly much, as I always found his songs a bit too polished, a bit too controlled. Here he's really letting loose and some songs just sound so much better this way. For example Twisting The Night Away really benefits from the live rawness at the harlem square club and Cupid doesn't sound nearly as sappy as on studio recordings (although I think it's sped up a bit too much in this live version). Still, there are aspects of live recordings I just don't like. Sure, crowd interaction is great when you're part of the crowd at the concert. But I just don't care for hearing it in recorded when I want to listen to music - and there's way too much of it on this album. Still, a very good record.

Very upbeat and bounces along with vibrancy - even when singing ballads. Reminds me how much inspiration Otis Redding must have taken from Sam Cooke’s stage-craft and singing techniques. A proper crowd-pleasing set incorporating crowd noise and extremely tight, virtually gap-free transitions between songs. Excellent sweet soul music.

Nice and fun album. Sam Cooke seems like he would be really fun to see live and he interacted with the crowd in a really cool way. He’s obviously a great singer and this is the best way to listen to him in my opinion

Good Live album. Cupid and Twistin' the Night Away were featured on Inner space and Back to the Future soundtracks, so I remember them well. But all great jams. Classic 50s rock and roll.

Fun live performance... hard to feel down when Sam is clearly having such a good time.

i like it

Sam Cooke (and many other Soul musicians, for that matter) is an artist I've heard by name countless times, but haven't ever sat down to listen to in any substantial way. I really enjoyed this live album, particularly the contagious energy that Cooke and the rest of the musicians brought to their performance. You can really hear that energy reflected back in the audience's enthusiasm - I can't imagine how much fun this concert would have been to experience live in person. "Feel It", "It's All Right" and "Bring It on Home to Me" were standouts that I can definitely see revisiting frequently.

track 2 (feel it) was SO fun to listen to chain gang has a really nice hook so far one of the best live albums ive ever listened to each track so far has been super melodic and a whole experience ok so i just finished the full album really good for my first soul album and i can definitely see the influence in later music 8/10

24th June 2022 Listened across the weekend as I was still ill, finished first thing Monday morning. Sam Cooke is arguably the greatest male soul singer ever but it’s way more energetic and James brown-y here than I would have thought. Taking nothing away from the vocal performance though.

Great live album

pretty good blues and soul album, and the live part really adds to the atmosphere

wasn't super excited for it, but I loved the energy he brought to the crowd. Great music, great live energy, well captured live album.

Oh no live album. But oh yes Sam Cooke. I'd still rather listen to the songs themselves (live albums have no place here for me - maybe make a book called 1001 Live Shows you Probably Missed Out On But Can Listen To a Facsimile of on Tape to Tolerate Before You Die) but this is certainly a high paced, energetic run through some absolute classics - though putting Chain Gang and Cupid back to back was a daft move! But I'm just going to put Sam Cooke on properly later and really enjoy it.

Nice, very nice.

This set is really hot. Love his voice and the band really cooks (pardon the pun). The atmosphere sounds incredible and his interplay with the audience natural. It's a great performance. 4 🌟

Would've loved to be in the room - sounds like a hell of a night was had by the crowd! Sam Cooke makes it all seem effortless, and has a ball in the process. Weird that this is his only album in the list... Fave track - "Chain Gang", maybe, or "Somebody Have Mercy"

Great soul music and a fun early live album

I love Sam Cooke! And enjoyed this live recording. Wish I could have seen him perform live.

I absolutely love Sam Cooke. He's wonderful, and the energy of this album is wonderful. I was dancing in my seat.

Love Cooke's voice, backing band and the crowd's interaction from the opening track. Twisitin' the night away and Having a party were especially lively and exciting. I'd say it was unreal to be in attendance. 4.5 stars?

catchy feel good oldies. gospel-y Chuck Berry. Cooke really knows how to work a crowd

Good album. Made me wonder what I would have listened to if born in another era.

sam cooke died too many years before i was born, and this wonderful live album makes me feel closer to the experience of seeing him live! the audience's cheering, cooke's rapport with audience, his attention commanding presence. no one does soulful, romantic songs like sam cooke. what a legendary voice. how he combined certain songs was masterful--i literally felt like i was one of the screaming audience members when cooke sang a few words from "you send me" during "bring it on home to me". this album was certainly a treat!

This is another one where I think I would've benefited from listening to it when hanging out with friends instead of walking to my boring geography class and then while looking over my homework for the week. It's a lot of fun, but it is a lot of the same. I seriously wish that live albums weren't a part of this list, but whatever, this was pretty good, if very repetitive.

Beautiful voice and it was like being wrapped up in cozy songs that I already knew.

Excellent, must have been a great concert to be at

Live albums can be tough, but Sam Cooke has such an infectious energy live and it was captured well here. He's having fun and you can feel it. Fuck, Sam Cooke was so great. Wish he never got wrapped up in the chaos of his time period. Trouble souls can make the best artists, unfortunately.

Sam is a mighty fine musician and from what we can hear on this nine an excellent performer. We did lose him way too early.

I think some 60s soul is exactly what I need on a dragging Friday with a sore head. Cupid is fulfilling this. Sam's voice is delicious and I love the fact that it's a live recording - would LOVE to have been there dancing. It sounds like they're really having so much fun. Ah the medley with For Sentimental Reasons popping up, I love that song! Great performance it really made me smile.

This was a really great listen on a sunny Monday morning. Really joyful music and loved hearing it as a live performance - I think you could tell he was enjoying it too! I feel you could hear him smiling. Enjoyed hearing what I assume is the original of a song Amy Winehouse covered - Cupid. Will listen again!

Great fun! I wanted to be there jigging away. I liked the bit where he basically said 'if your wife is annoying you don't go hitting her, go home, wake her up and give her a kiss'

Great voice and classic soul songs

This is what a live album used to be and is supposed to be. Sadly Harlem Square was recorded in 1963, it wasn’t released until 1985. (7/10) FT: It's Alright, Bring it on Home to Me

What a voice, and what a set!

would give it a 5 if it was not "live". I feel the quality of the recording is not great

I'm not a big fan of live albums, but I might make an exception for this one. Where I know Sam Cooke normally from his smooth and somewhat boring studio work, this is something entirely different. There's a lot of soul, swing, power and music in this. It sweats, it cracks, and his voice is great. If I would now have to recommend someone to listen what Sam Cooke is, I'd refer them to this album, and not to any of his studio albums. It has changed my perspective.

This recording has all the attributes of a good solid live album. The recording is clear and upfront, the crowd is engaged, loud and present (not too screamy loud, like a Beatles concert), the vocals are raw and emotional, the songs don't sound exactly like the studio versions, a great setlist and it actually sounds like a live concert. This surprised me because I had only heard the studio versions of Cooke's songs and live they are transported to another level. The raw, raspiness of Cooke's vocals is reminiscent to Rod Stewart's vocal delivery and obviously Stewart was heavily influenced by Cooke. Stewart's cover of Twisting The Night Away is clearly a tribute to Sam Cooke. I love this record, one of the better live concert albums out there, it's crazy it took so long to get a proper release!

Cupid is going to be stuck in my head for the next couple of months. I am completely okay with that.

What a fantastic voice. Sounds like a fantastic performance.

Back to 1960' Harlem. Love it.

first listen sounds like an electric crowd

The energy and vocals really make this a great live album. Really enjoyable. Favorite Songs: Feel It (Don't Fight It), Twistin' The Night Away, Bring It on Home to Me, Somebody Have Mercy

Aww. This album was sunshine on this gray, snowy day. My favorite track was Medley: It’s All Right / For Sentimental Reasons. When the audience started singing along at the end, my heart melted. SO, my fun fact about this album is that even though it was recorded in 1963, the record label thought it would be damaging to Cooke's pop image because it was too "gritty and raw", so they archived the recordings. It wasn't actually released until 1985, when an exec found the tapes and made sure they be released asap. And now it's widely regarded as one of the best live albums of all time.

Such a fun listen. Even during the songs you can hear the crowd hooting and yelling. It makes it feel more authentic and not just a worse quality recording of the actual studio songs like many live albums sound like. 7/10

7'5/10

This was really great, was pleasantly surprised!!!

Joyful and soulful, made me want to dance. Incredible rapport with the audience.

So cute and merry

can only describe as "swinging"

A much more raucous album with some extended versions of familiar classics. Cooke is very lively and gets the crowd involved. A thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable live set.

Good quality Soul loves it.

Quality stuff, engaging live too

I always forget just how good his voice was. Pure sex, pain, romance, lust all condensed into one voice. Great live album. Best Tracks: Cupid; Medley: It's All Right / For Sentimental Reasons; Twistin' The Night Away

Well, I feel similarly to this album that I feel about the majority of live albums, in that listening to the live recording doesn't simulate the live experience for me. This album has more character than a lot of the live rock albums that I've heard because of the amount of character that Sam brings to the show and the audience participating in the show. Given that the original songs weren't recorded in tremendous quality in the first place, it's hard to fault the live recording quality. Given that, this is a cool listening experience. The recording being done in a club rather than a stadium just feels more intimate. It adds a lot to this recording. Somehow I feel more like I'm there than a normal recording. With that being said, some of Cooke's banter would be best left in the 60s, like the casual reference to domestic violence (though in his defense, he said not to hit your wife), and his odd reference to leukemia in the middle of Somebody have mercy 4/5

👍

Yo, this dude and his band bring it on this one

Ég hefði viljað vera á þessum tónleikum.

I never knew there was a king of soul until now. And I did see why Sam Cooke was crowned the King of Soul. Whew! Right after the King of Pop I got to listen to the King of Soul! This album is exploding with energy. And it's not even rock. It's soul! Cooke's raspy vocals, the dynamic band, and the audience interaction all powered the album. I'm not a big fan of live albums, but this one is definitely one of best of them. It might get repetitive after a while. But it has a solid pace. It's a nice thirty plus minute party album.

Love Sam Cooke. Lots of little laughs

It does an incredible job of making you feel like your actually at the club. Usually, when I hear live albums, its more contemporary rock bands playing in stadiums. While the experience is different, it never really makes you feel like you're there like this album does.

High energy and Jazzy. Pretty simple themes but super fun listen while riding in Asilomar. Banger

Rätt kort och gott album, inte allt för långdraget och otroligt livlig energi som verkligen kommuniceras. Otrolig publikkontakt för tidigt 60tal. Bra 'geometrisk' balans i lurarna gällande instrumenten, Sams röst ligger liiiite till höger vilket är lite störande men ingenting man tänker på om man inte anstränger sig. Lite tråkig och statisk inspelning där visserligen sången plockas fram snyggt men instrumenten smälter ihop och fastnar lite i de lägre registerna. Definitivt den största nackdelen med albumet men är väl rimligt för en liveinspelning från 60-talet, lite synd bara när sången plockas upp så fint och har stundvis strålande ljudbild. Perfekt balans mellan publik och artist, strålande track list och ett medley i mitten gör det till ett toppen livealbum. Perfekta låtval, perfekt energi, perfekt längd. Undermålig kvalitet sabbar ett annars helt perfekt livealbum.

Det svänger katten! Blev förvånad över att det var så kort. Var rädd att det skulle vara för live-stämning men det körde på bra. Är det CA att vilja va med?

this is very fun

Soul at it's best here. Probably the best "Live" soul album. Real raw soul at it's live best. You can hear the influence of Sam here on Rod Stewart et al. Brilliant sax on "Somebody Have Mercy" but my Favourite here is definitely "Chain Gang" Top Notch Influential Soul Music.

Absolute class.

Enormt stemningsfuldt! Ikke nødvendigvis fordi det er god lyd, men stemningen når helt ud igennem højttalerne. Det er bare skide fedt.

Man he's on fire here. So good to hear some familiar tunes of his given a lightning bolt shock of energy. The band are cooking, he's throwing all he's got at it, and the audience are lapping it up. What a legend. Love it.

Not usually a fan of live albums, and don’t usually feel like I’ve missed out on anything, but this sounded like a hell of a night. You can almost smell the cigarette smoke. His voice is absolutely unbelievable.

Great stuff. Would have liked a bit more.

Great voice, and sounds like he was an excellent performer for the crowd

This is another one where I think I would've benefited from listening to it when hanging out with friends instead of walking to my boring geography class and then while looking over my homework for the week. It's a lot of fun, but it is a lot of the same. I seriously wish that live albums weren't a part of this list, but whatever, this was pretty good, if very repetitive.

Really great for a live album! Several hits, great vocals and energy, great ad-libs and crowd interaction. Would definitely listen again!

3.5 for sure but which way to go... I really like this style of "oldies" for lack of a better term. And the energy in the live performance make it a lot of fun.

I could listen to this every single day

Fuckin and fuckin and fuckin and fuckin

A tight, exciting live set full of energy

Great stuff! Really enjoyed the energetic performance and the music was a good time as well.

I would dance to this . Why not. Also Sam Cooke is a very amazing singer in the soul genre. I can imagine him singing this live when I am listening to this. I felt like I was transported to the 1950s

Nice live jazz album, traditional value, classic 50s sounding black album

Electrifying, urgent and insistent sweat dripping live show carried by great performances from the band and Cooke’s showmanship. His voice is smooth like butter, but also raw and guttural, simultaneously sacred and profane, whipping the audience into a frenzy. If I could fire up the old DeLorean, this is the live show I’d go all the way back to 1963 to see.

Amazing look into an icons best live recording. It really give you a sense of the time and what he was to perform. As most live records from the time it was too short

So much fun!! Some real bangers

Siento que cada que sale un disco en vivo prueba equivocados a los que insisten que no debiera haber en vivos en la lista (hasta ahora al menos). Crudo, fuerte, una fiesta completa y lleno de energía, es totalmente sorpresivo para lo que esperaba. A quien cree que no conoce a Sam Cooke, sí conoce a Sam Cooke, tiene una cantidad enorme de canciones clásicas de R&B y pop románticas y fue instrumental en el crecimiento del soul. Retaría a cualquiera a escuchar las versiones grabadas originales de estas canciones y compararlas con este disco. Es como si le hubieran quitado un bozal y la correa y ahora realmente se sintiera libre para ser él mismo. Pasa de canciones que suenan al muchacho de balada clásica de la época cantándole a la novia a un personaje activo, duro, que si bien sigue cantando esas canciones de letras romanticonas ahora lo hace con una voz mucho más real y rasposa, platicando con el público y sudando alegría pura. No, quizá no sean canciones que me hayan llamado mucho la atención en su gran parte desde antes, pero en estas versiones sin duda que es un disco que no solo vale la pena escuchar por su valor histórico sino por lo agradable del ambiente que puede crear. Por cierto Sam Cooke, una muerte extraña... quizá no era la mejor de las personas pero en este disco pasó de ser un músico que conocía y "respetaba por su importancia" a ser un proyecto que genuinamente disfruté.

En la presentación tuve una sensación de "qué pedo con este disco?" Y 6q cuando fue avanzando y entrando en ambiente la fiesta hasta me sentí en ese lugar. Esa agresividad en las canciones hasta en las baladas es brutal, el soul en general me gusta pero con este disco se voló la barda

Great album. A great voice with some top arrangements.

While I have mixed feelings about live recordings in general its clear when you listen to some that the musician we know from the studio is only a pale comparison to what they must have been in person. Beautiful stuff.

7.5/10

I'd heard Twisting the Night Away before, so it was a cool experience to hear the rest and get a fuller context. I liked the romantic jams.

So. Much. Soul. Loved it.

An amazing live album, crazy it wasn't released for ~20 yrs because RCA was scared of ruining Cooke's image.

Good songs. No need for the live album version

Proper music that

Fantastic singer, just not for playlist

I enjoyed it. I'm not really a big fan of live albums so that's the only real negative. High quality recording.

Nice upbeat soul/jazz music

Really catchy and so much energy, perfect for dancing to

A fantastic live album that highlights Cooke's magnificent charisma and vocal command. 8.2/10

Really fun album to listen to, full of messages about love, forgiveness, and trust. Though, I wouldn't do what Sam Cooke recommends and wake up your partner in the middle of the night to tell them you love them.

What a fun live album! Especially just after Frank Sinatra too! Sam Cooke is absolutely COOKIN'

☆Notatki//Przemyślenia☆ ~Chciałabym iśc na taki koncert do takiej kawiarnii jak w latach 50/60🥺 ~KLIMAAAAAT CUDOOO ~Szanuje lata 60, serio

What a voice this man has! Enjoyed the album, great vibe.

from what i hearrrd it was just grweat for a live! album 4.0

Enjoyed it, didn't expect to

Fun energy, good time, would have been a fun show to go to

Lotta nice shouts

Can’t go wrong with a bit of Sam

Love a live album. This was really good, will definitely relisten. 8 for me

wow he has some energy!

Another live album that is pretty darn fun, and doesn't overstay its welcome. Low 8.

this is such a jam. I can't imagine how good this would have been live. You can feel the energy.

Solid fun album with lots of great songs in a live setting. A touch of sexism from a bygone era, but overall a really enjoyable listen.

Man, this is so good. It's like you're there in the club listening to this amazing performance. Excellent.

One of those live albums where not only is the "room" present, but a huge part of the captured experience. Great performance, and infectious to listen to.

4.5 - wow such incredible energy. great tunes and electric atmosphere. amazing

Very enjoyable smooth blues.

Lots of fun. What a great voice!

Heerlijk live soul album, wat een stem heeft die man

If I had a time machine, I'd go back to be at shows like this. How fun that must've been. Ahh time machines.

7.5

yeeeess

This was awesome

King of soul… very good live album!

Great energy and amazing crowd mastery by Sam Cooke. It's a wonder to realize that this album was shelved by the label for 20 years out of fear that Sam's public view would deteriorate. How far we've come.... Chain Gang is my personal favorite, but all of the songs carry the same joy, passion, and energy as the last one. Great live listen.

Usually not a big fan of the live album. There have been a few surprises on the 1089 list. But unfortunately, this really isn’t one. The sound quality isn’t great. I don’t think it gives me a better feeling for Sam Cook as a performer, honestly. I think I would have appreciated a studio album more. This began to be truly tedious, actually. 3 Boolean: true? True for Sam Cook, false for this particular album

arranca bien, primera vez que escucho a Sam Cooke saquen los panuelos muchachos vamos a bailar twist Bring it on home to me!!!!! muy bueno

This would have been a great show in person but it just didn’t come across that well on the recording. Fun listen and I usually love live albums, but I think a studio album would have been a better choice to showcase his talent.

Sam Cooke is GOATED, but this album is just too old for me

Thought it was fine.

Great album. Just not my style.

Enjoyed it

Previously known.

It was pretty good, I like how quickly he goes into new songs, even though i've never heard the studio versions of any of them it was still enjoyable, guy has a good voice.

Mal vieillit

This is good but live albums don't belong here. Top track: "Nothing Can Change this Love"

Yet another seminal live project that was released years after the concert of a Soul icon is Sam Cooke's Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963. I am a fan of Sam Cooke's music but also will be honest in saying I am not super familiar with his discography. This live project acts as something of a short, but impactful greatest hits for Cooke as he blasts through some of his most iconic songs with a new found and flexible instrumentation. Besides the greater emphasis on the singing and the occasional cool change Sam does with his songs, I don't have a lot to say here. It is a really solid live project for its' time and while I can totally understand why some people would look on it so fondly, I personally don't think it is anything to write home about in the year of 2026. Still definitely worth a listen as it showcases everything for why Sam is such a great artist, and showcases some great songs in his very short but rich discography. Nuff said!

Sounds like a cracking night out in Harlem to be fair. 6/10

Liked it more than I thought. Classic soul

I'm sure this would have been 10/10 in-person but recorded it got a little old for me. Maybe I just don't like live albums much

I like a lot of sam cooke, but not really a fan of this live album

I liked it

album gostosinho e leve, me da vontade de assistir um filme classico americano. as transiçoes sao legais vendo q é filmado de um show e ele toca uma musica atras da outra sem pausar

Reconheço a qualidade, foi uma experiência agradável, gostei de ouvir durante o dia de hoje (03/08/26), mas acho que não será um álbum que eu vou revisitar muitas vezes apenas por não ser muito meu estilo de música

Correcto

Fine voice

It's good, obviously. Loads of energy and the songs whip by. It's a little chintzy for my taste though.

Vocals are great, but the recording leaves the instruments very muddy. I like the studio recordings so much more.

Day 8: pretty good

Enjoyable, about as much as I can say about this.

The problem with a live album is you have to judge it differently than a studio album. Especially, if you know the studio versions. How do the artist work the crowd? How is the crowd? Dead? Crazy? How does their sound translate live? That's the big question? For Sam Cooke, he excelled on every level. It was a treat to hear live versions of Cupid, Chain Gang & Twisting the Night Away. 4

Listenable but not my thing.

It’s ok

The songs are undoubtedly great as are cooke's voice. The sound is terrible though and is ripe for remastering. Shame really

It was fine

that live album feels as it was a really good time

Råbe soul. Live. Fint nok, ret kort album. Fed stemme.