The Valentinos began as the Womack Brothers, a popular Cleveland gospel group, but Sam Cooke took them to Hollywood and transformed Bobby and the brothers into soul music luminaries.

While they scored a handful of deserved R&B hits in the early 1960s, they maintained the close harmony associated with gospel quartets. Case in point is the title track, which originally saw the light of day as the Womack Brothers’ number “Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray.” Probably the Valentino’s best-known tune, the funky “Lookin’ For a Love” (with Harold Battiste and John Boudreaux in support) of course reached a broader audience when it was covered by the Rolling Stones.

The Womacks wrote most of their own material, including the splendid “Baby, Lots of Luck” and “I’ve Got Love For You.” However Cooke also contributed material, penning “Put Me Down Easy” and co-writing “I’ve Got A Girl” with Bobby.

Interestingly, another Cooke contribution, “Tired of Livin’ in the Country,” borrows its melody note-for-note from Fats Domino’s “Going to the River.” A real Cooke/Valentinos cracker is “Shakin’ This Way and That (Lassie),” which for some reason remained on the shelf until now. In all, this is a superior and surprising offering of early soul with a strong flavoring of gospel.