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Album Review: Gerald Alston - Sings Sam Cooke (Featuring Gerald Albright)I can recall having two very serious conversations with Gerald Alston. The first one took place at Cliff Perkins (Soul Generation) studio in Jersey City, NJ on a Sunday morning. It was a meeting/hang out session with several NYC area Classic Soul artists. That day Gerald got up and spoke with much eloquence about the need for the Classic Soul artists to unify and support each other, or else they would soon find themselves out of existence. The second one took place in Atlantic City, NJ. It was the day of the taping of one of those PBS specials. The Manhattans were performing on the special and after the rehearsal I hung out with Gerald and Blue, with the idea that I was going to interview the two of them. What started out as an interview really ended up being mostly a monologue, with Gerald Alston reminding me of what my responsibility was as the creator of Soul-Patrol and what it could possibly mean to Black artists like him, if only they could get themselves together? I mention all of this simply because on a personal level these conversations serve as a backdrop to me in listening to the new release; Gerald Alston - Sings Sam Cooke (Featuring Gerald Albright). If you have ever seen Gerald Alston perform live, either solo or as the lead singer of the Manhattans, you already know that one of the highlights of the show is when Gerald comes out and does a cover version of the Sam Cooke classic "A Change is Gonna Come." Gerald never fails to bring the house down, often leaving audience members in tears, because of his ability to evoke the memory and spirit of Sam Cooke, while singing "A Change is Gonna Come." If you have ever seen Gerald Alston perform this song live, then you already know this to be a fact. However what you don't know is that Gerald Alston isn't just "channeling" Sam Cooke's singing voice, but he is also "channeling" the spirit of the things that Sam Cooke stood for as an artist and as a man. If you are a fan of Sam Cooke's music (and I can't imagine anyone reading this who isn't) and/or you are a fan of Gerald Alston (and I can't imagine anyone reading this who isn't), then making a descion to pick up on this album is really a "no brainier." The catalog of Sam Cooke, can be thought of as "the building blocks of soul music" and they are a part of the DNA of anyone who loves the music. As I listen to this album I not only am able to hear Gerald's singing these classic songs, like the jewels they are, but there is more. When these songs were first released, they were targeted for a teen audience, back in the days of American innocence, before the assaination of JFK. Gerald is singing each one in a way that is true to the original, however they sound "all grown up." We know what Sam Cooke "the pop star" sounded like from his many hit records. We know what Sam Cooke "the soul singer" sounded like from the "Live at the Harlem Square" album. But because of his early death, we will never know what "the mature" Sam Cooke would have sounded like. Now because of this album we now know and that's because of the great musicians that Gerald brings to the table. Yall already know about Gerald Albright, but the guy who really shines here is Eban Brown on guitar. You know Eban Brown best as the current lead singer of the Stylistics, but don't sleep on his guitar playing, he is one of my current favorites and he truly "brings it on home' on the studio version of "A Change is Gonna Come." As I open up the liner notes, I can see the names of other artists (most notably Mr. Al Goodman) from the North Jersey Classic Soul music scene. You see, Gerald Alston isn't just "talking loud & sayin nuthin" when he talks about Classic Soul artists unifying. He "talks the talk' and "walks the walk." The album ends appropriately enough with a live version of "A Change is Gonna Come." Given the events and personalities surrounding the 2008 Presidential election, that song takes on additional signifigance. One would think that "A Change is Gonna Come" would be a natural for Mr. Obama to use as a part of his 2008 campaign, perhaps we will see him use it after the convention? If he does, he should strongly consider using Gerald Alston's version. This album has much to offer in terms of channeling the spirit of Sam Cooke. However there is perhaps one aspect of it that is most important of all. If Sam Cooke were alive today, there is little doubt in my mind that Sam Cooke would be an independent artist. We know from Erik Green's book "Our Uncle Sam", that Sam Cooke hated record labels, he thought they were plantations, that's why he created his own record company (SAR Records.) Gerald Alston is following Sam Cooke's lead. Gerald Alston is an independent artist. The only place you can buy this album is on Gerald Alston's website. (And I have NO DOUBT that Sam Cooke is not only smiling about the overall quality of this album, he's got to be doing cartwheels, because of how Gerald is bringing his spirit, right up to the present time!!) 1. You Send Me You will soon be able to listen to a couple of songs from the album Gerald Alston - Sings Sam Cooke (Featuring Gerald Albright) in the rotation at NuSoul @ RadioIO at the following link: |
