I have a fairly enormous record collection, but there are no Joe Cocker albums in it. I do have his singles of “The Letter,” “Feelin’ Alright” and “High Time We Went.” The latter is an outstanding record, IMHO, and it’s doubly cool because the verses are sung in reverse order from last to first. I don’t know of any other songs that do that. And I think his is the definitive cover of “Feelin’ Alright.” The rest of his catalogue that I’ve heard didn’t do anything for me at all, really, and if I never hear “You Are So Beautiful” again, it’ll be too soon.
I like his cover of “Come Together” from that Across The Universe movie, though I have to admit that part of it was that his characters in that song (an air-guitar playing hobo, a hippie, and a pimp in a bright green suit) were just a bit over the top and fun to watch.
Well, the hobo and the pimp were, the hippie actually didn’t do much in the song.
Word up. I can’t stand Janis Joplin either. I prefer listening to singers sing, not perform emergency self-appendectomies.
Ringo actually sounds *glad *he has friends - like they lift him up. Cocker sounds like his grateful to have his friends since they’re the ones who buy the purple meths to drown the pain. But then I don’t see the appeal of Johnny Cash covers, either, so I might just be against old men who sound like washed-up winos. Although I like Tom Waits, so maybe not.