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Rating: In the early months of 1970, touring around the world was the last thing on Joe Cocker's mind. After two intense years of life on the road, the singer from Sheffield intended to unplug for a while, retreating to Jamaica to rest, have fun, and meditate on the musical direction to pursue in the future. However, the vacation was short-lived, as he was called back to work by his producer and mentor Danny Cordell, since a tour of the United States had already been scheduled, and if he refused to participate, he would face serious problems with the record company (in other words, he would never tour America again).
Realizing this, Cocker took the first flight to Los Angeles where he contacted his friend and musician Leon Russel, who had already participated in the recordings of his previous album a few months earlier, begging him to help form a new band to start the concerts (in fact, Cocker had dissolved his previous band, the "Grease Band", a few months earlier). Russel, excited about the idea, immediately contacted various musicians and within a few days assembled an exceptional group, with even three drummers such as Jim Keltner, Chuck Blackwell, and Jim Gordon (an excellent drummer, already with Delaney & Bonnie, then Dominos with Clapton, Traffic etc., until mid-1980s when he killed his mother who he said "attracted evil spirits" and was arrested), a brass section composed of Bobby Keys (Keith Richards' best friend and almost official saxophonist of the Stones) and Jim Price, and a large group of choristers, the "Space Choir", including Claudia Lennear and Rita Coolidge, who had a brief relationship with Cocker himself and was called "Delta Lady" (the song of the same name is dedicated to her). Completing the lineup were Carl Radle on bass (also Delaney & Bonnie and then with Clapton), Chris Stainton on piano, and Don Preston on guitars.
Due to looming commitments, the huge group of musicians, called "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" after a song by the English playwright and actor Noel Coward, found themselves hastily rehearsing the setlist, with four days of intense rehearsals, twelve hours a day, in which they also recorded the single "The Letter/Space Captain", a record of great commercial success. The concerts began in Detroit, where they were enthusiastically welcomed by the American audience, who very much appreciated the band's show, intense and engaging like never before. The recordings of this live/film were taken from the March 27 and 28 dates at Fillmore East in New York, a historic venue in the city, a theater of great musical events such as concerts by the greatest ever, from the Allman Brothers to Jimi Hendrix.
The repertoire was based on covers of great rock, soul, and R'nB classics, but almost completely modified in arrangements and interpretation by the band, in some cases even revitalized; just think of the excellent "Honky Tonk Women" by the Stones, which took on new life with an exceptional R'nB arrangement, or the famous "She Came In Thru The Bathroom Window," a song from the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper," which was improved by the work of the musicians, becoming one of the English singer's fans' most beloved songs. Worth noting is the wonderful version of Leonard Cohen's "Bird On a Wire"; it begins with a great soul introduction by Russel on the piano, a delicate and dreamy ballad where Cocker's hoarse yet sweet voice is whispered at first, then explodes in the chorus, excellently supported by the "Space Choir". A goosebump-inducing song, like the subsequent "Cry Me a River", a traditional gospel song rearranged by the group, or the energetic and fun "Feelin' Allright", a staple of an entire career. Giving Cocker a bit of rest is "Superstar", interpreted by the great voice of Rita Coolidge, and two songs composed and sung by Leon himself, namely "Hummingbird" and "Dixie Lullaby". Touching is the "Blue Medley" composed of the soul songs "I'll Drown My Own Tears", "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" and Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long", where Cocker seems to touch the sky with his voice.
The tour proceeded with great success, but soon drugs, alcohol, and very strong and diverse personalities undermined the band's serenity, and the last date in San Bernardino was almost like a liberation from the "monster" (as defined by Cocker) that had been created. Tired, discouraged, and demoralized by the turn of events, Cocker took at least a couple of years to recover from the depression that had gripped him like a vise; the concerts were a triumph but paid for at a high price. The live album was released in August, reaching number 2 in America, a great result, a great show, perhaps the pinnacle of success for the English singer.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 Cry Me a River (03:59)
Now you say that you’re lonely
Hate to being so untrue
I want you to cry (Cry me a river)
Want you cry (Cry me a river)
All over me (Cry me a river)
I want you to cry (Cry me a river)
Yeah, over me (Cry me a river)
Hey, yeah, cry (Cry me a river)
Yeah I cried a river over you
Now you say that you're sorry
Oh, for bein' so unkind
I want you to cry (Cry me a river)
Cry for me (Cry me a river)
Oh! (Cry me a river)
Over me (Cry me a river)
Want you to cry (Cry me a river)
Right on me, yeah (Cry me a river)
Oh, I cried a river over you
You drove me nearly drove me out of my head
Never shed a tear
Remember, I remember all that you said
Told me love was too plebeian
You were through with me
(Cry me a river)
Oh yeah (Cry me a river)
Want you to cry (Cry me a river)
Oh yeah (Cry me a river)
Oh, cry (Cry me a river)
Cry me a river (Cry me a river)
Oh, I cried a river over you
Now you say you love me
Well, just to prove you do
You drove me nearly drove me out of my head
Oooh, never shed a tear
Remember, I remember all that you said
Told me love was too plebeian
You were through with me
(Cry me a river)
Yes (Cry me a river)
I want you to cry (Cry me a river)
Cry me a river (Cry me a river)
Ah (Cry me a river)
Cry me (Cry me a river)
Oh, I cried a river over you
Yeah, I cried a river over you
(I cried a river over you)
Over you (I cried a river over you)
Over you (I cried a river over you)
Ah!
(I cried a river over you)
Let me (I cried a river over you)
(I cried a river over you)
Cry me a river (I cried a river over you)
Over the mountain (I cried a river over you)
(I cried a river over you)
Let me (I cried a river over you)
Let me cry a river over you (One, two, three, four)
(Cry me a river, cry me a river)
(Cry me a river, cry me a river)
Yeah (Cry me a river, cry me a river)
(Cry) Cry a river over you
06 Bird on the Wire (06:32)
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Like a worm on a hook,
like a knight from some old fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.
If I, if I have been unkind,
I hope that you can just let it go by.
If I, if I have been untrue
I hope you know it was never to you.
Like a baby, stillborn,
like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me.
But I swear by this song
and by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee.
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
he said to me, "You must not ask for so much."
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
she cried to me, "Hey, why not ask for more?"
Oh like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
08 Superstar (04:55)
(Bramlett/Russell)
Long ago, and, oh, so far away
I fell in love with you before the second show.
Your guitar, it sounds so sweet and clear, but you're not really here.
It's just the radio.
Don't you remember you told me you loved me baby?
You said you'd be coming back this way again baby.
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby.
I love you, I really do.
Loneliness is such a sad affair, and I can hardly wait to be with you again.
What to say, to make you come again?
Come back to me again, and play your sad guitar.
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