Aural Fixations

SAM COOKE
Night Beat
One Night Stand! Live at the Harlem Square Club
The Best of Sam Cooke
(RCA/Legacy)
Sam Cooke is largely credited as the man who invented soul music. While that's a challengable claim (by Cooke fan Ray Charles, for one), the former gospel singer and pop icon is certainly one of the heavyweight pioneers. From the late 50s to his untimely death in the early 60s, few could touch Cooke when it came to emitting singles that hit the perfect midpoint between raw R&B and sweet pop. He's retained considerable acclaim for his songwriting and production skills, but his greatest legacy remains his incredible voice. He could wail with the best of them, but what made him special was his taste—he hit just the right notes in just the right way with just the right amount of feeling, avoiding histrionics and blandness both. He's been a huge influence on subsequent R&B and pop vocalists, from Otis Redding to Rod Stewart to even Steve Perry (who seems to have missed the "taste" part). In his heyday, Cooke was called Mr. Soul, and there are damn good reasons for such an all-encompassing moniker. (more)

KING'S X
Ogre Tones
(InsideOut)
When a batter is down in the count, if he's good he can settle in, protect the plate and go with a compact swing. Don't aim for the fences, just concentrate on putting the ball in play, doing what you do best in a crucial situation. That's exactly what King's X do on Ogre Tones. (more)

MARAH
If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry
A Christmas Kind of Town
(Yep Roc)
Well, it's about frickin' time. After a decade of tearing up stages around the world but making albums that never seemed to live up to the on-stage performances, Philadelphia's Marah finally decides to record live in the studio for If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry. (more)

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR
The Least We Can Do is Wave to Each Other
He to He Who am the Only One
Pawn Hearts
(Charisma/Virgin/Astralwerks)
When the history of progressive rock enters the discussion (yeah, I know, how often does that happen?), the names of the usual suspects pop up: Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Kansas, Emerson Lake & Palmer. But there was a second tier of prog acts in the 70s that gained little more than a cult following. In many ways these bands were more genuinely progressive; without the burden of success and ensuing commercial expectations, artists like Gentle Giant, Gryphon, Lindesfarne, Barclay James Harvest, etc.were able to follow their muses wherever they led, without much fear of consequences. (more)