Live At The Harlem Square Club

Listening to this in the car makes you a seriously chilled driver. It's impossible to get wound up listening to this. I really enjoyed it and will listen again and again.

Now this was a truly good time. The vibes were high and the sounds were terrific. I really enjoyed listening to his performance and wish I could time travel to this hot space to dance and sing along.

Listen to "Live at the Copacabana" and you can hear what the execs wanted: smooth and white audience friendly. Instead Cooke delivered thus, recorded in front of a rowdy, mainly black crowd, who want nothing more than to make their opinion heard, this is a foot stomping, gospel influenced, loose, rough and ready delight. The execs took one listen and decided that it didn't promote the image they were trying to give Sam Cooke and shut it in the vaults. Which is a pity, because this is a great album. Cooke tears the roof off, while the crowd holds the ladder and hands him the tools. Just amazing. You can feel them all sweating. 5 stars.

Amazing energy

Sounds fun. Cooke had an amazing voice, charisma, and presence. I can visualize this performance.

I bet this was a hell of a show. I wouldn't have been cool enough to be there if I had been alive, so I'm glad to have heard it.

Loved the energy on this. I can only imagine how cool it would’ve been to be there for the live performance

Det svänger! Vilket tajt band och vilken kanon inspelning. Jag brukar inte gilla live plattor, men wow. Sam Cooke ligger ovanpå alltihop med klipp i rösten och en oerhörd auktoritet. Trots att ingen av låtarna fastnar är helheten värd en femma!

Off the chain, doesn’t take its foot off the gas once. Hell of a singer and performer.

Great album

Music is good, but don't like the live recording.

6.0/10

Wow!! Loved this!! This is one of those albums you wish you were able to see performed live. His stage presence throughout was something, holy smokes!! Way to go!!

Well that was fun. I enjoyed his passion and party. Souly jazzy rock. Added a lot by being live I think.

A decent live album. Great hits performed. Just a ton of energy!

This would have been so fun to attend in person. This is dripping with, something -- I don't know what it is -- but it's awesome.

What a performance! Cooke was set at 10 the entire show and his band was at the same level. He was talking or singing almost the entire time. I'm amazed he could speak at all by the end of the set. Great recording, too. It felt like I was sitting right in front of the stage.

I like Sam Cooke but not a fan of live albums.

I’ve grown my appreciation of live recordings through this process. What a fun album.

Too old for me

it was fine for a live album. I bet it was a great gig if you were there

divertidissimo, restaurou minha fé, me fez querer dar um passo a mais cada dia e me disse que o amanhã vai ser melhor. isso é muito lindo

Not usually a fan of live recordings but this was such a slice of history.

I love his voice and his sound. What a legend

Favorite Song: Chain Gang Least Favorite: Somebody Have Mercy

lets twist a while!

Good time. Idk if I would rather the studio or live version tho

Not my complete cup of tea (although I have a soft spot for Ray Charles), but it's OK and went fast. Didn't give me any memorable moments, but made me think, how much people paid for a 30-minutes live concert back in the 60's? I would give it 2.7 ratings

7/10

Not heard this album before, not keen on live recordings too much background commotion going on to appreciate it.

Not heard before, a good album, some well known tracks, pretty lively performance. As its effectively a live best of 2.5 stars. 2* here

loved it. saved 3 songs.

Amazing registry, great fun. Incredibly great for a live album.

Haven't seen a sports metaphor around here lately. Is this record a home run? I'd say not quite, but it is a screaming line drive into the gap in left-center. For our friends in the UK and beyond, that is a bullet boundary through extra cover, not a sixer.

This is great, live soul music, but I dislike soul as a genre.

1/5 not bc it was bad, but bc i am not a big fan of soul. Honestly i didn't finish it, but it was not bad, I mean Sam sounds pretty good and the music does too; it sounds kinda gospel, but it's cool ig. Just not my fav genre tbh

I have to admit, when I saw another live album pop up, my first thought was, “Oh man, really? Another one?” But you know what? Sam Cooke might have just restored some of my faith in live albums, because I actually really enjoyed this one. And I think that's largely because it's one of those rare live recordings that shows a completely different side of a performer. Apparently, when this was recorded, the record executives thought it sounded way too rough, gritty, and raw for someone they were marketing as a smooth, clean-cut pop artist. So they shelved it for over two decades. Well, their loss! At first, I wasn't completely sold. It sounded fine, but I still preferred the studio versions. However, by the second half, I was genuinely getting into it. This guy is absolutely rocking the house! The crowd is loving every minute, Cooke is giving it his all, and the energy is just infectious. And really, isn't that what a great live album should capture? That feeling of wishing you were actually there, experiencing something special? This album absolutely delivers on that. That being said, I still prefer the original studio recordings, and the sound quality here is definitely rough around the edges. But for once, I can appreciate a live album for giving me something I wouldn't have gotten from the studio versions. It's a fantastic performance and just a really fun time. A solid 4 out of 5.

He pretty much picked a lane and stayed in it, didn’t he? He’s good, sure, but if he had range we would never know from this set.

It's good, but it's not something I'd return to.

Not a fan. Too noisy. Production value too low.

This was fantastic. Sam Cooke’s vocals and jazzy instrumentals are good by themself, but add the fact this was recorded for a live audience and it’s a winner. It’s got such a classic but timeless sound to it, easy 5

Sam Cooke, banger. I’m usually more of a studio album fan but the live album has a good vibe and as always the singing and instrumentals are equally excellent.

1/5. Not my cup of tea at all. Probably very good at what he does and for the era but for me it was a struggle to get through 2 songs let alone 10.

Added to list; Feel it (don't fight it) Chain Gang Great concert album.

Saxophone is one of the best instruments beside the harpsichord and organ. Great album.

a beautiful album by a beautiful man

pretty rough production but incredible atmosphere! i hadn't heard Sam Cooke's work apart from a few songs so this was a great introduction

++: Chain Gang, Cupid, Medley: It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons, Twistin' the Night Away, Somebody Have Mercy, Nothing Can Change This Love, Having a Party +: Feel It, Bring It On Home to Me 8,6/10

Leser at dette livealbumet ble lagt i skuffen i 20 år, fordi publikum var for bråkete. Fint album.

felt very the same overall, the quality was not the greatest

I don't like Sam Cooke.

I’ve only ever heard studio recordings of Sam Cooke and I love his voice so it was fun to hear his personality and interactions with the crowd.

What a great live album. It sounds like everyone has a great time. Wish I was there. 4.5

Its ok. Great voice.

i love when a live album makes you feel like you're there. i enjoyed this a lot more than i thought i would, very nice :)

You can Feel It with this one. It’ll have you Twistin’ the Night Away.

Now that’s how you do a live album

Well this will wake you up! It starts with a pace, a rawness and a gutsy determination to dare the crowd not to be immediately enthused and engaged… and doesn’t let up. Soul music to its very core.

Yeah, nice

Sensational voice and a live album full of energy. Perfect album for a Monday morning.

I liked it, but i wish it was some of his studio recordings so i can get a better understanding of him as an artist.

This sounded like it would have been an extremely fun concert to be at! And this was pre-Beatles. Good collection of songs, however obviously kinda like a greatest hits. Unique and fun singing style.

I find it hard to rate a live alblum as a classic. It sort of like rating a greatest hits alblum. I believe if I view as a studio alblum I would rate a 4 so I will rate a 4. I think if I was there I would have been a 5 show

I really enjoyed this album. I would definitely listen to this more than once.

Старина и его черные друзья делают вещи

Sam Cooke does the Motown and soul for 30 minutes and it’s real smooth. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Good: We are live! The Bad: Stuck in Harlem... The Ugly: A square club... needs a square peg... I am not a fan of live albums, unless they are vastly superior to the studio album. This is not the case... Also, I prefer to listen to Otis... What I thought was most interesting about this album was the duration.. did a show last that short back in the day? Is that normal? Last Friday I went to see the Screaming Cheetah Wheelies perform their 1996 album Magnolia front to back, then they took a 10 minute break, came back and fucking rocked for another 1+ hour... that was a show, which I wish was on this list... Anyway, poor mr Cooke. I will slam this record right down the middle... 3*

absoluetly amazing

Entertaining. Repetitive. .

really fun and enjoyable to listen too, great vibes and lots of emotion. you can really feel the atmosphere as he sang these songs live and it makes you feel like you are there in a way

WOW! This was great! I have heard the odd Sam Cooke song but only the studio versions and this was pretty incredible. Sam was an incredible live performer giving a great energy to these songs that sounds electrifying. Makes me wanna go back and hear the studio versions and see how they compare because he sounds exactly like he does there in the few songs from him I know. This album starts and it just keeps going without unnecessary interuptions from the crowd some live albums and recordings can have. Just a near 40 minutes of beautiful performances. Cupid was a pretty ass song Jesus.

신나심

Loved this. One of those live recordings that really transports you back in time to the moment. Such great energy throughout.

Dude I loved this! What a performance and what a performer. How much fun would it have been to be there dancing? I can't imagine.

I love Sam Cooke-but this is possibly an example of a less strong album because it’s live, although I live the atmosphere.

Some great soul and R&B classics get submerged by Sam Cooke imploring the audience to be involved. This is often my problem with live albums. There's room for studio-production and the urgency of live performance, but not achieved in this case.

Fabulous

This collection doesn't do Cooke the service he deserves as a musical giant. How 1001 can miss A Change is Gonna Come is beyond me. And although Cooke's voice is great live, it would have been even better to hear it in a studio context. He's a 5* artist (and musical activist) but sadly this is only a 3* album.

It's always the same problem with live recordings: the music itself is great, but it would be better if you were actually there. On top of that, the recording sounds pretty flat. It comes across as a bit of a letdown. 3/5

was wondering if a live album that only came out decades after the artist's death was really the perfect pick for the list (see elis regina's inclusion, not even a live album lol), but FUCK was it good unbelievable levels of power. goes without saying for the vocals, but the same goes particularly for the drum/sax performances. particularly loved the interludes or wherever where the song would drop out, and the band would only play in like pulses while sam belts over it all. actually mesmerising stuff favourite songs: somebody have mercy, bring it on home to me, nothing can change this love least favourite song: none

fine

Great album, be happy to listen to again.

As a rule, Best Of albums and Live albums should not be included on any favorite or best album list, unless, UNLESS, it's an amazing live album. And, there are very few of those. For example, Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense, Sinatra - Live at The Sands, and B.B. King - Live at The Regal. And that's it! Now I'm including Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club. What a party! I'm sorry I missed it by not being born yet.

The boogie is undeniable

Fun, energentic, full of power prowess and pure talent. Sam Cooke does not dissapoint. Production is great on this album too. Not as good as some other decade specific live albums but its astounding for the time in general. My primary issue is the one dimensional R&B and Soul song structure. The Motown scene was new and bubbling with hit makers but rarely did anyone reinvent the wheel. Except of maybe Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Sam stayed so mild and didn't innovate, just made good timeless tunes. So cognizant of that opinion its fair to rate this 4 stars.

This is a great live album with some oldie hits. Great album but not really my favorite type of music. I think this may be the first live album I've heard from some of the early soul artists in their prime. I only dock it one star because it isn't my favorite type of music.

Wow. I have no words. I have never heard anything by Sam Cooke before. This must be the definition of Soul

Best Track - "Chain Gang"

An enjoyable listen. Not much more to say about that. 3/5

Чувак знал, как зажигать. Очень бодренько. Жаль, я такое не слушаю

No es mi estilo

Album 300! A fun and groovy album that breezes through its almost 40 minute runtime like its nothing. The songs are catchy (if not a bit similar from one to the next) and make you want to get up and dance. I am also in awe of the way the recording captures the rawness of Cooke's voice that goes against the more polished image of him I had in my head. Also its fun to hear where Bruno Mars clearly gets a lot of his influence from. A great album for a Friday and for #300 4/5

As much a showcase of Sam's crowd work as the actual music, it's a loosey-goosey, ramshackle performance that sounds like a fun time if you were present, but left me wanting more in terms of actual musical quality listening at home.

Nah this ain't it. I honestly thought that the first half of the album was just Cooke appealing to the masses and then he was gonna switch the vibe up after one absolutely fire song...but no. There is genuinely one great song on this in a sea of 60's slop. Thankfully Cooke's voice is majestic so it gets 2 stars still

A fantastic artist doing everything he could to make the crowd as happy as possible and the crowd loving every moment. The sound was very lofi though and showed the weaknesses of the time

Great crowdwork, album captures the feel, energy and sweat of really being there. Good energy, not memorable music.

Bra (og mye) energi, og av og til bittelitt masete.

Faen for en fest!! Måtte høre den tre ganger på rappen.

Humørpille.

Sam Cooke was a soul legend and this album captures him in his prime. It shows that in addition to being a world class singer with great tunes, he was also an electrifying stage presence who really knew how to work a crowd. It's not quite one of the all time greatest live albums, but it's damn close.