October 24, 2009

An Open Letter to Legacy Recordings

To Whom It May Concern:

I recently went to my local record store looking to purchase a record or two. I’ve only just started my collection, and so was looking for a few cornerstones upon which to build. Fortunately, my trip was successful, and I found two records that I was seeking, one of which was a 180-gram audiophile recording of Sam Cooke’s One Night Stand: Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club, produced by your company.

I was thrilled. It’s maybe the best live album of all time, and I had a vinyl copy of it in my hands! And then I turned it over, and found the following quotation:

Live at the Harlem Square is one of my favorite live recordings of all time. It captures the true energy of this staggering, passionate talent. It’s such an intimate recording – you can hear cracks in his voice, the madness of the crowd who are so with him, encouraging him, shouting for him in each song. A particular favorite is ‘Twistin’ the Night Away.’ Sam Cooke will always be a tremendous influence on me, and who knows, if there weren’t a Sam, there might not have been a Rod.

- Rod Stewart, June 23, 2005


Rod Stewart? Really? Who thought this was a good idea? Are you really asserting that Rod Stewart, the singer of such atrocities as “D’ya Think I’m Sexy” and “Tonight’s the Night,” belongs on the same page as the immortal Sam Cooke? The last line is particularly brutal. If there weren’t a Sam, there might not have been a Rod… Now, I could never wish that there hadn’t been a Sam, but to even nudge me an inch in that direction, how dare you?

What was wrong with the original back cover? Maybe there was a rights issue—I know these things can get complicated. But seriously, a blank back cover would have been better than this. Why not a quote from Sam? This is an audiophile LP release; do you really see a lot of audiophiles browsing through a record store, picking up this record, reading the Rod Stewart quote, and saying, "Rod Stewart likes this album? Well then I'm sold!"

I’m sure that the record sounds great, and I know that I’ll listen to it a lot. The recording is classic; it’s a record I want to sing along with, to bob my head to, a record that I want to dance to. Please forgive me for not wanting to think about Rod Stewart every time I put it on.

Do better.

Ben

Sam Cooke - Bring it on Home to Me (live) (YSI) (filesavr)
Sam Cooke - Having a Party (live) (YSI) (filesavr)

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5 comments:

MUERTE said...

You need to be a little easier on Rod Stewart. I'm convinced and will argue till I die that Rod Stewart is a top-10 Rock'n Roll vocalist of all time. His first solo albums, and his work with the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces is incredible, and his singing pays a tasteful debt to classic soul men like Sam Cooke. Now, that being said, I still don't really support pointless artist plugs on the backs of albums--they annoy me regardless of who their by. But let's let up on Rod.

MUERTE said...

*they're

Anonymous said...

Rod was god-awful. Rod fans, dont thank Sam Cooke for him, thank the devil.

Unknown said...

haha, awesome. Christ, really? Rod Stewart is awful, with his sandpaper voice and club singer image.

Perhaps this legacy is the real reason Sam Cooke met with a sticky end all those years ago...?

"And this one's for inspiring Rod Stewart!" [BANG! Thud]

CLEM said...

You are a saint. It couldn't have been said better.

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