We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
Even though constant touring and heavy drinking had ravaged a once beautiful voice, Joe Cocker still delivers a solid follow-up to the classic “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” LP with his second self-title album, 1972’s “Joe Cocker”.
It’s a piano-organ drenched R&B record featuring a band led by Chris Stainton. They lay down a nice groove for Cocker to wail on. Alan White and Jim Keltner play drums on this.
Joe & Chris wrote five of the songs including “High Time We Went” which was a minor hit. “Black Eyed Blues” is good and they do a nice cover of Gregg Allman’s “Midnight Rider”, which, of course, is right in Cocker’s wheelhouse.
Hip-Hop fans will recognize “Woman to Woman” which was sampled by Tupac for his single ‘California Love”.
Three of the songs are live including my fave, a scintillating version of the old blues classic “St. James Infirmary”.
It’s not “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” but it will do in a pinch to feed a Cocker craving.
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