Sam Cooke's SAR Records Story is a double-disc set presenting material recorded for the legendary soul singer's own SAR label from 1959-1965, much of it produced by
Cooke himself and including a few of his rough, unreleased demos. The first disc covers the label's religious side, with a multitude of cuts from
Cooke's former group
the Soul Stirrers (now with Jimmie Outler on lead vocals), plus a generous helping of songs by R.H. Harris & His Gospel Paraders and
the Womack Brothers. The second disc covers essentially the same gospel-derived soul territory but with a secular bent, featuring future stars
Bobby Womack (with
the Valentinos),
Billy Preston, and
Johnnie Taylor, plus
L.C. Cooke, Johnnie Morisette, the Simms Twins, and
Mel Carter. All in all, it's an excellent look at a lesser-known portion of
Cooke's career, and there's some great, underappreciated music to boot. ~ Steve Huey