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]
Robert Christgau	(B+)[2]

Joe Cocker is the third studio album by Joe Cocker, released in 1972 in Europe as Something to Say on Cube Records, and in the USA as Joe Cocker on A&M Records. It contains the hit 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's an unusual LP among Joe Cocker albums, in that he wrote the lyrics to six songs. All of them were co-written with Chris Stainton between 1969 and 1972. Only five were written with Stainton, as "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 Castle Communications and in 1998 a remastered edition of the album was released worldwide on A&M Records. Alan White, soon to be Yes' drummer, played on this album alongside Jim Keltner, after he was featured on George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" and John Lennon's "Live Peace in Toronto", "Imagine" and "Sometime in New-York City" albums. Conrad Isidore played with Steve Stills and Hummingbird, among others. Percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah was known for his work with Traffic and the German band Can.

Track listing

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

Side One

1. "Pardon Me Sir" – 3:37
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 Nichols) – 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) (Frey Assunto) – 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 riff from "Woman to Woman" was sampled by Tupac Shakur in his song "California Love"; it was a smash hit for Tupac, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Woman to Woman" was also featured in the soundtrack for the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, on the fictional classic rock radio station K-DST.

Personnel

• Lead vocals - Joe Cocker
• Guitar - Neil Hubbard
• Bass - Allan Spenner
• Piano and organ - Chris Stainton
• Drums - Jim Keltner, Alan White, Conrad Isidore (live tracks)
• Percussion - Felix Falcon
• Congas - Rebop Kwaku Baah (live tracks)
• Trumpet - Rick (Alphonso) Alfonso
• Saxophone - Fred Scerbo, Milton Sloane, Jim Horn (live tracks)
• Backing vocals - Gloria Jones, Viola Wills, Virginia Ayers, Beverly Gardner

(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
• Produced by Denny Cordell ("She Don't Mind", "Pardon Me Sir, "Black-Eyed Blues, "High Time We Went", "Something to Say")
• Produced by Nigel Thomas ("Woman to Woman", "Do Right Woman")
• Produced by Denny Cordell and Nigel Thomas ("Midnight Rider", "St. James Infirmary")

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

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.