Sam Cooke - Complete Recordings of Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers (2002)

Tracklist:

Disc: 1
1. Come, Let Us Go Back to God
2. Peace in the Valley
3. I'm Gonna Build on That Shore
4. I'm Gonna Build on That Shore
5. I'm on the Firing Line
6. I'm on the Firing Line
7. Joy, Joy to My Soul
8. Until Jesus Calls Me Home
9. Jesus Done Just What He Said
10. Jesus Gave Me Water
11. He's My Rock (Wait on Jesus)
12. How Far Am I from Canaan?
13. Christ Is All
14. It Won't Be Very Long
15. It Won't Be Very Long (take 2 - alternate)
16. It Won't Be Very Long (take 3 - alternate)
17. Jesus Will Lead Me to That Promised Land (take 1 - alternate)
18. Jesus Will Lead Me to That Promised Land [incomplete] (take 2 - alternate)
19. Jesus Will Lead Me to That Promised Land
20. Just Another Day
21. Let Me Go Home (take 1 - alternate)
22. Let Me Go Home
23. Jesus Paid the Debt
24. Jesus Paid the Debt (take 2 - alternate)
25. How Far Am I from Canaan?
26. How Far Am I from Canaan? [incomplete] (take 1 - alternate)
27. How Far Am I from Canaan? (take 3 - alternate)
28. Someday Somewhere
29. Someday Somewhere

Disc: 2
1. End of My Journey
2. He'll Welcome Me
3. He's My Friend Until the End
4. He's My Friend Until the End (take 2 - alternate)
5. I Have a Friend Above All Others
6. Come and Go to That Land
7. Come and Go to That Land (take 1 - alternate)
8. Come and Go to That Land (take 3 - alternate)
9. I'd Give Up All My Sins and Serve the Lord
10. I'm So Happy in the Service of the Lord
11. All Right Now
12. All Right Now (take 2 - alternate)
13. All Right Now (take 4 - alternate)
14. He'll Make a Way 2:36
15. He'll Make a Way (take 2 - alternate)
16. Jesus, I'll Never Forget
17. Jesus, I'll Never Forget (take 5 - alternate)
18. Any Day Now
19. Any Day Now (take 6 alternate)
20. One More River
21. Nearer to Thee
22. I'm So Glad (Trouble Don't Last Always)
23. Be with Me Jesus
24. He's My Guide (take 4 - alternate)
25. He's My Guide [incomplete] (take 12 - alternate)
26. He's My Guide (take 13)
27. Pilgrim of Sorrow
28. Pray [incomplete]
29. The Last Mile of the Way [incomplete] (take 1 - alternate)
30. The Last Mile of the Way (take 2A - alternate)

Disc: 3
1. The Last Mile of the Way
2. He's So Wonderful
3. Touch the Hem of His Garment
4. Jesus, Wash Away My Troubles
5. Farther Along
6. Must Jesus Bear This Cross Alone?
7. Pilgrim of Sorrow
8. Happy in Love
9. I Need You Now
10. I'll Come Running Back to You
11. Lovable
12. I Don't Want to Cry
13. That's All I Need to Know
14. Forever
15. Lord Remember Me
16. That's Heaven to Me (take 1 - alternate)
17. That's Heaven to Me
18. Were You There? [false starts] (takes 1-4)
19. Were You There? (take 5 - alternate)
20. Were You There?
21. Mean Old World (take 3 - alternate)
22. Mean Old World
23. I Have a Friend Above All Others
24. Be with Me Jesus
25. Nearer to Thee

While the pop classics by the grit-and-honey singer reached a broader audience, Sam Cooke's formative music with the Soul Stirrers, recorded for the Specialty label, ranks with both his best and gospel's best. Only 19 when he was recruited in 1950 to replace the group's venerable R.H. Harris, Cooke developed the signature style he would carry into the popular arena while he was still singing church music. Disc 1 shows the raw passion of a vocalist who has yet to apply the polish for which he would become known. By disc 2, Cooke is no longer tentative in replacing a legend but asserting an irrepressible musical identity. Disc 3 demonstrates his growth as both a vocal master and an ambitious songwriter--most famously on "Touch the Hem of His Garment"--while documenting his transition as a solo artist into the secular arena. Among the revelations of the set's 83 tracks, the stripped-down arrangements on the alternate takes of "Come and Go to That Land" anticipate the rise of "sacred steel," while the vocal call-and-response over the organ bedrock of "All Right Now" is as rapturous as gospel gets. After the various takes of "Were You There?" show how Cooke could take the most familiar material and make it his own, the final three tracks capture his electrifying impact in live performance.