Joe Cocker's debut album holds up extraordinarily well across four decades, the singer's performance bolstered by some very sharp playing, not only by his established sideman/collaborator Chris Stainton, but also some top-notch session musicians, among them drummer Clem Cattini, Steve Winwood on organ, and guitarists Jimmy Page and Albert Lee, all sitting in.
It's Cocker's voice, a soulful rasp of an instrument backed up by Madeline Bell, Sunny Weetman and Rossetta Hightower that carries this album and makes "Change in Louise," "Feeling Alright," "Just Like a Woman," "I Shall Be Released," and even "Bye Bye Blackbird" into profound listening experiences.
But the surprises in the arrangements, tempo, and approaches taken help make this an exceptional album.
Tracks like "Just Like a Woman," with its soaring gospel organ above a lean textured acoustic and light electric accompaniment, and the guitar-dominated rendition of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" -- the formal debut of the Grease Band on record -- all help make this an exceptional listening experience.
The 1999 A&M reissue not only includes new notes and audiophile-quality sound, but also a pair of bonus tracks, the previously unanthologized B-sides "The New Age of Lily" and "Something Coming On," deserved better than the obscurity in which they previously dwelt.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bye Bye BlackbirdMort Dixon, Ray Henderson | Joe Cocker | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | Change in LouiseJoe Cocker, Chris Stainton | Joe Cocker | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | MarjorineJoe Cocker, Frank Myles, Tom Rattigan, Chris Stainton | Joe Cocker | Play | 02:14 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 4 | Just Like a WomanBob Dylan | Joe Cocker | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | Sandpaper CadillacJoe Cocker, Chris Stainton | Joe Cocker | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 6 | With a Little Help from My FriendsJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | Joe Cocker | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 7 | I Shall Be ReleasedBob Dylan | Joe Cocker | Play | 04:35 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | Feeling Alright | Joe Cocker | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Do I Still Figure In Your Life? | Joe Cocker | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 35 mins | 81 MB | |||||
| 35 mins | 224 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madeline Bell | Vocals |
| 2 | Bennie Benjamin | Composer |
| 3 | Artie Butler | Piano |
| 4 | Gloria Caldwell | Composer |
| 5 | Clem Cattini | Drums |
| 6 | Merry Clayton | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 7 | Joe Cocker | Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 8 | David Cohen | Guitar |
| 9 | Denny Cordell | Producer |
| 10 | Pete Dello | Composer |
| 11 | Laudir DeOliveira | Percussion |
| 12 | Mort Dixon | Composer |
| 13 | Bob Dylan | Composer |
| 14 | Tommy Eyre | Keyboards |
| 15 | Matthew Fisher | Guest Artist, Organ |
| 16 | Sue Glover | Vocals |
| 17 | Ray Henderson | Composer |
| 18 | Rosetta Hightower | Vocals |
| 19 | Brenda Holloway | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 20 | Patrice Holloway | Vocals |
| 21 | Paul Humphrey | Drums |
| 22 | Paul Humphries | Drums |
| 23 | Carol Kaye | Bass |
| 24 | Mike Kellie | Drums |
| 25 | Albert Lee | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 26 | John Lennon | Composer |
| 27 | Sunny Leslie | Vocals |
| 28 | Sol Marcus | Composer |
| 29 | Dave Mason | Composer |
| 30 | Paul McCartney | Composer |
| 31 | Henry McCullough | Guitar |
| 32 | Frank Myles | Composer |
| 33 | Jimmy Page | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 34 | Tom Rattigan | Composer |
| 35 | Kenny Slade | Drums |
| 36 | Chris Stainton | Bass, Composer, Guest Artist, Keyboards, Organ, Piano |
| 37 | Tony Visconti | Guitar, Mixing |
| 38 | Sunny Wheetman | Vocals |
| 39 | B.J. Wilson | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 40 | Steve Winwood | Guest Artist, Keyboards |
| 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). |