Sam Cooke- Ain’t that good news

Back to 1964, ‘Ain’t that good news’ is the thirteenth and final album from Sam Cooke before his untimely death at the age of just 33. As a 32-year-old myself at the time of this article I can’t help reflect on the scale of this mans achievements both as a singer, songwriter, and activist at such a young age. This record is peppered with hits and immediately transports you to its time. This is what I find so enthralling about music as a medium, the ability to sample the sound and the essence of the cultural zeitgeist of a different time. As light-hearted as the record sounds, the backdrop of Black history in America at the time permeates the listening experience. Dealing with poverty, division and struggle lyrically, I get a sense of juxtaposition in that this was a record directly aimed at the mainstream, for all people to dance to and for those of us with the benefit of hindsight to reflect on.

This record has bags of character, recorded clean, authentically analog and it is a joy to listen to it with the benefit of the cleanliness of modern digital Hi-Fi tech. The timbre of the instruments is wonderfully communicated. Strings are earthy and the recording carries the sound of the room they were recorded in. Horns are rich and wonderfully arranged, the staccato stabs of trombones in ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ juxtaposed with the warm and inviting french horns provide a wonderful harmonic bed that Sam Cooke’s voice rests on perfectly.

Mixed to the right of center in the soundstage is a deep double bass which to hugs your ears on every pluck, the magic, however, is in the arrangement of all instruments. They all have their own space and whilst you can delineate every performance on its own, they come together to form a wonderfully live performance. Typically most artists sessions were recorded live and in this case, the record was cut completely live at RCA Studios in California. You can close your eyes and easily put yourself in the middle of the room watching each musician perform. Sam Cooke himself has been expertly recorded, a large Neumann U47 tube microphone was mostly used in his case and you can hear the velvety qualities of the performance shine through. Highlights for me include ‘Good Times,’ ‘Another Saturday Night,’ ‘Falling in Love’ and of course ‘A Change is Gonna Come’.

‘Ain’t that Good News’ will transport you to a different time, a time of great social change. It lyrically hits hard and sonically encapsulates the charm and beauty of music in this era. I consider it a privilege to be able to listen and reflect on the history that this record documents. For a truly ‘authentic’ experience I highly recommend listening to this record on vinyl however a good quality stream or cd will provide a wonderful experience.