Just a few years after "Up Where We Belong" topped the charts, Joe Cocker found himself struggling to earn the attention of the audience he had just regained.
It wasn't that he was recording uncommercial material.
If anything, it was because he was trying too hard, as 1986's Cocker proves.
He works with a variety of producers on the album, yet they all arrive at the same slick, mildly synthesized, vaguely soulful adult contemporary sound.
Furthermore, neither the producers nor Cocker have found consistently interesting material.
There are some good moments on Cocker that do justice to his still robust voice -- "Shelter Me" is a reasonably entertaining new effort, and Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" was a good cover choice, as was Randy Newman's "You Can Leave Your Hat On," even if Richie Zito's production on the latter is a little too slick.
Still, isolated moments of life can't quite make up for the preponderence of bland material and the turgid production, and Cocker winds up being another frustratingly uneven effort from a talented singer.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shelter MeNick DiStefano | Joe Cocker | Play | 05:39 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 2 | A to ZTom Kimmel | Joe Cocker | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | Don't You Love Me AnymoreAlbert Hammond, Diane Warren | Joe Cocker | Play | 05:24 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 4 | Living Without Your LoveMichael Bolton, Doug James | Joe Cocker | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | Don't Drink the WaterRichard Feldman, Pat Robinson | Joe Cocker | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | You Can Leave Your Hat OnRandy Newman | Joe Cocker | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 7 | Heart of the MatterBilly Aerts | Joe Cocker | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | Love Is on a FadeStephen Allen Davis | Joe Cocker | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | HeavenTerry Manning | Joe Cocker | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 10 | Inner City Blues | Joe Cocker | Play | 05:51 | 13 MB | 32 MB |
| 46 mins | 105 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 276 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Abbey | Engineer |
| 2 | Billy Aerts | Composer |
| 3 | Pete Ashworth | Photography |
| 4 | Michael Baird | Drums |
| 5 | Arthur Barrow | Bass, Synthesizer |
| 6 | Stuart Barry | Assistant Engineer |
| 7 | Michael Boddicker | Keyboards |
| 8 | Michael Bolton | Composer |
| 9 | Jeff Bova | Keyboards |
| 10 | Mike Clink | Assistant Engineer |
| 11 | Joe Cocker | Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 12 | Mel Collins | Saxophone |
| 13 | Jason Corsaro | Engineer |
| 14 | Stephen Allen Davis | Composer |
| 15 | Nick DiStefano | Composer |
| 16 | Bernard Edwards | Bass, Guest Artist, Producer |
| 17 | Bob Ezrin | Arranger, Mixing |
| 18 | Richard Feldman | Composer |
| 19 | Anton Fig | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 20 | Marvin Gaye | Composer |
| 21 | Jon Goldberger | Assistant Engineer |
| 22 | Cliff Goodwin | Guitar |
| 23 | Maxine Green | Vocals (Background) |
| 24 | Albert Hammond | Composer, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | Howard Hersh | Keyboards, Piano |
| 26 | Matt Howe | Assistant Engineer |
| 27 | Dann Huff | Guitar |
| 28 | Dick Hyde | Horn |
| 29 | Randy Jackson | Bass |
| 30 | Doug James | Composer |
| 31 | Tom Kimmel | Composer |
| 32 | Curtis King | Vocals (Background) |
| 33 | Roy Kohara | Art Direction |
| 34 | Paul Lani | Mixing |
| 35 | Jeff Lorber | Guest Artist, Keyboards |
| 36 | Andrew Love | Saxophone |
| 37 | Steve Madaio | Horn |
| 38 | Terry Manning | Composer, Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 39 | Carl Marsh | Fairlight |
| 40 | Larry Marshall | Keyboards, Organ, Synthesizer |
| 41 | Eddie Martinez | Guitar |
| 42 | Mike Moran | Bass, Keyboards |
| 43 | Paul Mortimer | Assistant Engineer |
| 44 | Ron Nevison | Engineer, Producer |
| 45 | Randy Newman | Composer |
| 46 | James Nyx | Composer |
| 47 | James Nyx, Jr. | Composer |
| 48 | Eric Parker | Drums |
| 49 | Joel Peskin | Horn |
| 50 | Brian Reeves | Engineer |
| 51 | Pat Robinson | Composer, Songwriter |
| 52 | Guy Roche | Engineer |
| 53 | Guy Rochi | Engineer |
| 54 | Vito San Filippo | Bass |
| 55 | Neal Schon | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 56 | Peter Shea | Design |
| 57 | Leslie Smith | Vocals (Background) |
| 58 | Pat Stapley | Assistant Engineer |
| 59 | Julia Tillman Waters | Vocals (Background) |
| 60 | Joe Turano | Vocals (Background) |
| 61 | Diane Warren | Composer, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 62 | Maxine Willard Waters | Vocals (Background) |
| 63 | Elesecia Wright | Vocals (Background) |
| 64 | Richie Zito | Guitar, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |