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The Soul Stirrers provided Sam Cooke his launching pad toward stardom, so when he started SAR in 1960, he decided to return the favor by making the gospel group the first act signed to his label. Indeed, the mere availability of the Soul Stirrers prompted Cooke and his partners J.W. Alexander and S.R. Crain to form SAR, an unusual and risky move for black artists at the start of the '60s, but the Soul Stirrers inspired that kind of passion, even if Specialty Records wound up cutting the group from its roster in 1959. Cooke rushed the Soul Stirrers into the studio and they cut a session in 1959 with Sam's replacement Johnnie Taylor, but he would soon depart for his own solo career, with the group bringing in Jimmie Outler to sing lead. Outler wasn't as indebted to Cooke stylistically, but the records on Joy in My Soul: The Complete SAR Recordings -- an ABKCO/Ace release from 2015 that marks the first-ever digital release of this material (there are also four previously unreleased cuts here) -- still bear the imprint of Cooke, who produced a good chunk of this material and wrote many tunes to boot. Much of the similarity derives from a shared sensibility. While the harmonies may be firmly planted in the church, the production on these 33 tracks often resembles the nimbler sides Cooke recorded for RCA, a modernity that's accentuated by the Soul Stirrers' reliance on original material from Cooke, Alexander, Crain, Outler, and Leroy Crume. All this makes the Soul Stirrers' SAR recordings quintessentially contemporary gospel music: it's rooted in tradition but open-hearted and open-minded. Sometimes, the group might slide into sappiness ("Heaven Is My Home"), but these slight missteps are forgiven because this attitude also gave the group the slinky "God Is Standing By," the rolling "No Need to Worry," a wildly imaginative rearrangement of "Amazing Grace," and many other lively surprises that keep this feeling fresh and alive, even when the production sometimes bears all the hallmarks of its time.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Sam Cooke, Producer - S.R. Crain, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 1960 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Jimmie Outler, ComposerLyricist - Le Roy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1960 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 1960 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - LeRoy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, ComposerLyricist - Sam Cooke, Producer, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, ComposerLyricist - Sam Cooke, Producer, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 1959 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - G.N. Allen, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1960 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Le Roy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1960 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - Richard Gibbs, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Paul Foster, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Barbara Grant, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, ComposerLyricist - Sam Cooke, Producer, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 1960 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Le Roy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1961 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - LeRoy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - Johnnie Taylor, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 1962 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - LeRoy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
Charles H. Gabriel, ComposerLyricist - Sam Cooke, Producer - Rufus H. McDaniel, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - LeRoy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2013 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - LeRoy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2013 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Jimmie Outler, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1963 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - Richard Gibbs, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 1963 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - Sam Cooke, Arranger, Work Arranger - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 2008 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Le Roy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1963 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - Sam Cooke, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 2013 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Jimmie Outler, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1963 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - LeRoy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2013 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Paul Foster, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2013 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
Belford Hendricks, ComposerLyricist - Sam Cooke, Producer - CLYDE OTIS, ComposerLyricist - Brook Benton, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 1964 ABKCO Music & Records Inc.
Sam Cooke, Producer, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - Le Roy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - LeRoy Crume, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Sam Cooke, Producer, Co-Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - Sam Cooke, Producer - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist - LeRoy Crume, ComposerLyricist - James E. Phelps, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
J.W. Alexander, Producer - Sam Cooke, Producer - THOMAS A. DORSEY, ComposerLyricist - The Soul Stirrers, MainArtist
℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
Album review
The Soul Stirrers provided Sam Cooke his launching pad toward stardom, so when he started SAR in 1960, he decided to return the favor by making the gospel group the first act signed to his label. Indeed, the mere availability of the Soul Stirrers prompted Cooke and his partners J.W. Alexander and S.R. Crain to form SAR, an unusual and risky move for black artists at the start of the '60s, but the Soul Stirrers inspired that kind of passion, even if Specialty Records wound up cutting the group from its roster in 1959. Cooke rushed the Soul Stirrers into the studio and they cut a session in 1959 with Sam's replacement Johnnie Taylor, but he would soon depart for his own solo career, with the group bringing in Jimmie Outler to sing lead. Outler wasn't as indebted to Cooke stylistically, but the records on Joy in My Soul: The Complete SAR Recordings -- an ABKCO/Ace release from 2015 that marks the first-ever digital release of this material (there are also four previously unreleased cuts here) -- still bear the imprint of Cooke, who produced a good chunk of this material and wrote many tunes to boot. Much of the similarity derives from a shared sensibility. While the harmonies may be firmly planted in the church, the production on these 33 tracks often resembles the nimbler sides Cooke recorded for RCA, a modernity that's accentuated by the Soul Stirrers' reliance on original material from Cooke, Alexander, Crain, Outler, and Leroy Crume. All this makes the Soul Stirrers' SAR recordings quintessentially contemporary gospel music: it's rooted in tradition but open-hearted and open-minded. Sometimes, the group might slide into sappiness ("Heaven Is My Home"), but these slight missteps are forgiven because this attitude also gave the group the slinky "God Is Standing By," the rolling "No Need to Worry," a wildly imaginative rearrangement of "Amazing Grace," and many other lively surprises that keep this feeling fresh and alive, even when the production sometimes bears all the hallmarks of its time.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 33 track(s)
- Total length: 01:29:54
- Main artists: The Soul Stirrers
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: ABKCO Music & Records, Inc.
- Genre: Jazz Gospel
© 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc. ℗ 2014 Abkco Music & Records, Inc.
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