Joe Cocker (album)

Joe Cocker
Studio album by Joe Cocker
Released	November 1972
Recorded	1971–1972
Genre	Blues rock, Southern rock
Length	42:28
Label	A&M SP 4368
Producer	Denny Cordell and Nigel Thomas
Joe Cocker chronology
Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1970) Joe Cocker (1972) I Can Stand a Little Rain (1974)
Singles from Joe Cocker
"High Time We Went" b/w "Black-Eyed Blues A&M 1258" "Midnight Rider" b/w "Woman to Woman A&M 1370"

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[2]

Joe Cocker is the third studio album by

single "High Time We Went", that was released in the summer of 1971. Joe Cocker signalled Cocker's change of direction into a more jazzy, blues style. The album reached no. 30 in the US album charts. However, although it received a positive response from the press, it made no impression on the British and European charts.

It is an unusual LP among Joe Cocker albums, in that he wrote the lyrics to six songs. Five of them were co-written with Chris Stainton between 1969 and 1972. "Something To Say" was written with Nichols. However, the album's main claim to fame might be that one of its tracks, "Woman to Woman", was the basis for Tupac Shakur's successful hit single "California Love".

The album, re-titled as Something to Say, was originally released on CD in 1990 by

.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Joe Cocker and Chris Stainton, except where indicated.

Side One

1. "Pardon Me Sir" – 3:17
2. "High Time We Went" – 4:25
3. "She Don't Mind" – 3:13
4. "Black-Eyed Blues" – 4:37
5. "Something to Say" (Joe Cocker, Peter Nicholls) – 5:00

Side Two

1. "Midnight Rider" (Gregg Allman, Robert Payne) – 4:00
2. "Do Right Woman" (live) (Dan Penn, Chips Moman) – 7:00
3. "Woman to Woman" – 4:26
4. "St. James Infirmary" (live) (Traditional, Frank Assunto; arranged by Chris Stainton and Joe Cocker) – 6:10

On the album's release, the tracks that received the most attention on radio were "Black-Eyed Blues", "Woman to Woman", and the cover version of Gregg Allman's "Midnight Rider", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 27.

In 1996, the horn-and-piano

.

Personnel

• Joe Cocker – lead vocals, arrangements (9)
• Chris Stainton – acoustic piano, Hammond organ, arrangements (9)
• Neil Hubbard – guitars
• Alan Spenner – bass
• Jim Keltner – drums
• Alan White – drums
• Conrad Isidore – drums (7, 9)
• Felix "Flaco" Falcon – assorted percussion
• Rebop Kwaku Baah – congas (7)
• Fred Scerbo – saxophone
• Milton Sloan – saxophone
• Jim Horn – saxophone (7)
• Rick Alfonso (incorrectly spelled Alphonso on the album cover) – trumpet
• Virginia Ayers – backing vocals
• Beverly Gardner – backing vocals
• Gloria Jones – backing vocals
• Viola Wills – backing vocals, lead vocals (7)

(A sticker placed on original issue albums read "Featuring the Chris Stainton Band and the Sanctified Sisters")

Production notes

• All songs recorded in 1972, except "High Time We Went" and "Black Eyed Blues", which were recorded in 1971; "Do Right Woman" and "St. James Infirmary" recorded live.
• Denny Cordell – producer (1-6, 9)
• Nigel Thomas – producer (6-9)
• Roland Young – art direction
• John Cabalka – design
• Peter Smith – photography

"Special thanks to Marvin Bornstein and Bart Chiate without whose special assistance this album could not have been completed. Thanks as well to Bob Potter and Chris Kimsey and to Gail Stainton, Charis Mitchell and Eileen Weaver who provided constant support to their old men."

Trivia

When A&M placed an advertisement for the album in Creem magazine, the ad copy read: "There is only one man in the world who can release an album named 'Joe Cocker'"

Chart performance

Year	Chart	Position
1972	UK	29
	US Billboard	30
1973	Germany	50

References

All song and personnel information gathered from the liner notes of the album Joe Cocker (Copyright © 1972 by A&M Records), as issued by A&M Records in the U.S.