I’ve been a fan of Joe Cocker’s music since the 1960. Sure, Joe has a gravelly voice, but he can sure belt out a song! Have a Little Faith came out in 1994 and presents a nice mix of songs. I like the covers of “Summer in the City” and “The Great Divide” a lot!
Legends of English Rock from 1992 feature not The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, nor The Who. Instead, Marianne Faithful, The Nice, The Yardbirds, and Small Faces show up. The biggest Name singer on this compilation CD is Rod Stewart! Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here?
GRADES:
Have a Little Faith: A
Legends of English Rock: B-
TRACK LIST :
| 1 | Let The Healing Begin Guitar – Tony Joe White Written-By – Tony Joe White | 5:12 | |
| 2 | Have A Little Faith In Me Written-By – John Hiatt | 4:40 | |
| 3 | The Simple Things Bass Guitar – Abraham Laboriel Written-By – John Shanks, Phil Roy, Rick Neigher | 4:54 | |
| 4 | Summer In The City Written-By – J. Sebastian*, M. Sebastian*, S. Boone* | 4:10 | |
| 5 | The Great Divide Alto Saxophone [Solo], Soloist – Ernie Watts Written-By – D. O’Brian*, J.D. Souther* | 3:33 | |
| 6 | Highway Highway Written-By – Steven Allen Davis* | 4:31 | |
| 7 | Too Cool Written-By – G. Sutton*, K. Fleming* | 4:45 | |
| 8 | Soul Time Guitar – Michael Thompson Written-By – Frankie Miller, Will Jennings | 4:35 | |
| 9 | Out Of The Blue Written-By – Robbie Robertson | 3:45 | |
| 10 | Angeline Guitar – Tony Joe White Written-By – Joe Cocker, Tony Joe White | 4:30 | |
| 11 | Hell And Highwater Written-By – John Miles, M. Pratt* | 4:12 | |
| 12 | Standing Knee Deep In A River Written-By – Bob McDill, Bucky Jones, Dickey Lee | 4:09 | |
| 13 | Take Me Home Alto Saxophone [Solo], Soloist – Ernie Watts Backing Vocals – Steve Kipner Guitar – Michael Thompson Vocals – Bekka Bramlett Written-By – John Capek, Mark Jordan*, Steve Kipner |
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Marianne Faithfull– | Vanilla O’Lay Written-By – J. De Shannon* | 3:53 |
| 2 | Humble Pie– | Only You Can See Written-By – P. Frampton* | 3:36 |
| 3 | P.P. Arnold– | The First Cut Is The Deepest Written-By – C. Stevens* | 3:04 |
| 4 | Duncan Browne– | On The Bombsite Written-By – D. Bretton*, D. Browne* | 3:03 |
| 5 | Small Faces– | Afterglow Written-By – R. Lane*, S. Marriott* | 3:30 |
| 6 | The Yardbirds– | Stroll On Written-By – C. Dreja*, J. Beck*, J. Page*, K. Relf* | 2:43 |
| 7 | The Nice– | Hang On To A Dream Written-By – T. Hardin* | 4:46 |
| 8 | Chris Farlowe– | Paint It Black Written-By – M. Jagger-K. Richards* | 3:25 |
| 9 | Earl Vince & The Valiants– | Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight Written-By – J. Spencer* | 2:39 |
| 10 | Rod Stewart– | Little Miss Understood Written-By – M. D’Abo* | 3:37 |
Nothing legendary about the songs on the Legends album: a lot of lesser-known songs and B-sides. The best part of the Joe Cocker album is the inclusion of Tony Joe White, who wrote one of my all-time favorite melancholy songs, “Rainy Night in Georgia”, but is perhaps best known for the rather campy “Poke Salad Annie”.
Deb, I’m always impressed with the variety of songs Joe Cocker choses to sing. From Tony Joe White to John Sebastian…
I’ve been a fan of Joe Cocker since I first heard him coming in through the bathroom window. As to the second compilation you list…meh.
Jerry, I think “Legends” is too strong a word for that compilation CD.
Well, I know Cat Stevens’s “First Cut Is the Deepest” and “Paint It Black” (of course, one of my favorite Stones songs), but otherwise, no.
Big Joe Cocker fan. We saw him in concert twice, first with super-fan Beth Fedyn at Jazzfest in 2008, then opening for Huey Lewis at Jones Beach in 2012. He was great. I always think…”Give me a ticket for an air-o-plane…”.
RIP
Jeff, Joe Cocker was unique and I always marvel at his albums.
I remember very few of any of the songs, at least by name.
I saw joe cocker once in concert. I’ve always wondered about his gyrations if it was his way of grooving to the music
Maggie, maybe Jackie or Jeff or Beth can answer that question since they’ve seen Joe Cocker in concert, too.
I am also a fan of Joe Cocker. I like gravelly voices, or hoarse, raspy voices like Rod Stewart.
Tracy, I share your fondness for Joe Cocker and Rod Stewart. Rod just announced his Final Tour for 2027. Apparently, he’s had some heart issues…
As Jeff notes, I love Joe Cocker.
Maggie, I don’t remember any outrageous gyrations at his JazzFest show but they never bothered me. One of my favorite SNL skits was John Belushi standing beside Cocker mimicking (perhaps not the right word) him while he sang.
Even Wilba enjoyed the show. She wasn’t familiar with Joe Cocker’s work but he won her over with his version of Cry Me a River.
Beth, listening to my Joe Cocker albums always brings delight because of the range of songs he sings!
Another Joe Cocker fan here! I’m partial to Oh, Lord, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood! I notice the Marianne Faithfull song credited to J. De Shannon! Of course, that’s Jackie DeShannon, whom I’ve always admired! I’m not familiar with most of these songs, but if I had the CD, I’d give it a listen!
Bob, we share a love for Joe Cocker and Jackie DeShannon’s music. Hope the Quick Draw box and your goodies arrived safely!
The Legends cd takes most of its contents (maybe all, I’m not going to look them up) from the Immediate label, which signed a lot of people before their major label signings, or periods in between one label and the other. Earl Vincent & the Valiants were actually Fleetwood Mac. This was a single b-side; the a-side was a great song by Peter Green, “Man of the World,” properly credited to Fleetwood Mac. I must say, I like the Elvis parody “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite” too. It’s certainly not great, but I enjoy it.
Jeff, thanks for that information!
I recall The Yardbirds–”Stroll On” and The Nice–”Hang On To A Dream” from another Immediate (LP) anthology from the ’80s I probably still have. A late replyl
Todd, better late than never! The Yardbirds and The Nice need to be rediscovered!