'Live At The Harlem Square Club'

Oh, I like this song.

During "For Sentimental Reasons," Sam Cooke is through a couple of lines through the song when he says "Oh, I like this song."

It couldn't be more sincere. More revealing. "For Sentimental Reasons" was recorded and released relatively early in his mainstream career, having gone to the public in 1957 and peaking at No. 17 in the charts and No. 5 on the R&B charts.

It wasn't a current song nor was it necessarily a big hit. But I can picture Cooke on the stage at the Harlem Square Club with his eyes closed and grinning saying, "Oh, I like this song."

He didn't like it because it made him a lot of money or really because it was insanely popular. It was just a good song. A song that you could've taken the lyrics and scribbled them on a note and given it to a loved one.

It's a sweet, romantic song. Sam Cooke liked that song just like any regular human being might like any song.

In the next line, Cooke proceeds to lead the audience in a sing-along. Cooke would recite the proceeding line of the song and then an explosion of unmiked voices from the crowd just scream out the lyrics. The next line. Again, the cacophony of voices erupts from the speakers.

There's something special about Sam Cooke. I'm not saying anything that hadn't been said the previous 50 years. Cooke started extremely early when he bridged the gap between gospel, pop and then soul. For my money, he's better than Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Al Green or anyone else as a singer.

The live album is much more raw and finds Cooke in his natural habitat performing for others, leading them in the appreciation of great songs and letting him present another version of his songs -- some hits, some new songs.

More importantly, it puts Cooke's sensationally unique voice in the limelight. Why is Cooke better than those other names? Cooke sang with such ease. He put as little effort and received the most back. He sang as easily as most of us talk.