Joe Cocker
With A Little Help From My Friends

THE REVIEW

When in 1968, a 24-year-old "Rythm'n Blues" vocalist from the north of England burst onto the London music scene, no one could have imagined how fast his climb to fame would be. Joe Cocker (this is the name of the young vocalist) made his recording debut the following year with an album called "With A Little Help From My Friends" named after the famous Beatles song of which there is a cover on the record.

Besides the Grease Band, a group led by Cris Stainton (bassist, organist as well as co-author together with Cocker of the 4 unreleased songs on the LP) and completed by pianist Tommy Eyre and drummer Clem Cattini; Cocker will use for the recording of the album's 12 tracks the most renowned and sought-after studio session musicians (at that time) in Anglo-Saxon territory. On guitars, the various tracks will feature alternations by Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin, New Yardbirds, The Firm, etc.), Albert Lee (who over the years will become the most requested country-rock guitarist in the world despite his English citizenship), Henry McCullough (Jesus Christ Superstar, Wings, Pink Floyd, etc.); on the Hammond organ Stevie Winwood (Traffic, Blind Faith, etc.) and Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum).

Among the 12 tracks on the album, in addition to the 4 signed by the Cocker-Stainton duo, there are a whopping 8 covers of songs previously made successful by the most important authors and performers of the time. Nonetheless, the Sheffield frontman, aided by the prestigious musicians mentioned above, will not fail to dress each of these sixties classics in new personalized atmospheres and arrangements, sometimes succeeding in the feat of astonishing the listener by decisively departing from the originals and thus giving a distinctly soul-blues soul and cut to each song, the latter element that will distinguish Cocker's entire discography which from here on will have its best moments as an interpreter.

It's really difficult to make preferences for an aficionado of late '60s Anglo-American sound regarding the songs present in this historic recording. It ranges from the title-track "With A Little Help From My Friends" by the Beatles rearranged in 3/4, for a version full of feeling and blues tension (in which the "nervous" solos of Jimmy Page and the backing vocals of the three gospel-affiliated backup singers play a fundamental role) to the cathartic "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Nina Simone (which several years later will achieve mass success through a dance version by Santa Esmeralda). The two tracks drawn from the repertoire of the best Bob Dylan are also absolutely not out of place: "I Shall Be Released" made very intense also by Stewie Winwood's skillful playing on the organ and the moving "Just Like A Woman". Also noteworthy is the revisitation of the 1926 standard "Bye Bye Blackbird". Among the tracks signed by Cocker, "Sandpaper Cadillac" deserves to be highlighted, a track that the Italian Fornaciari about twenty years later would not fail to pilfer by drawing inspiration (euphemism) for his "Menta e rosmarino". The jaunty opening track "Feeling Alright" (Dave Mason) is also nice, even if it significantly diverges from the atmospheres that will be experienced later in the album.

Thanks to this recording debut, Joe Cocker secured participation in the Woodstock Festival in August 1969 where his live set proved to be among the most memorable and intense. In my opinion, "With A Little Help From My Friends" can calmly be included among the 10 most important and influential albums of the Woodstock generation. A record to own.

Bye.