



Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends
RARITY Sealed
Joe Cocker – vocals
Backing vocals - Brenda Holloway (A1), Patrice Holloway (A1), Merry Clayton (A1), Madeline Bell (A2,B1, B4), Rosetta Hightower (A2, B4), Sue Weetman (A3, B1, B4-5), Sunny Weetman (A3, B1, B4-5)
Chris Stainton – piano (A2, A3, A4, B2), organ (A2, B2), bass guitar (A2 to B5)
David Bennett Cohen – guitar (A1)
Tony Visconti – guitar (A2)
Jimmy Page – guitar (A2, A4-5, B2, B4)
Henry McCullough – guitar (A3, B1, B3, B5)
Albert Lee – guitar (A4)
Tommy Eyre – piano (A5), organ (B3-4)
Artie Butler – piano (A1)
Matthew Fisher – organ (A5)
Steve Winwood – organ (B1, B5)
Carol Kaye – bass guitar (A1)
Paul Humphrey – drums (A1)
Clem Cattini – drums (A2, A4, B2)
Mike Kellie – drums (A3, B1, B5)
B. J. Wilson – drums (A5, B4)
Kenny Slade – drums (B3)
Laudir de Oliveira – tumba, congas, maracas (A1)
Written by Dave Mason (A1), Ray Henderson (A2), Mort Dixon (A2), Joe Cocker (A3-4, B2), Chris Stainton (A3-4, B2), Bob Dylan (A5, B5), Pete Dello (B1), Gloria Caldwell (B3), Sol Marcus (B3), Bennie Benjamin (B3), John Lennon (B4), Paul McCartney (B4)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g Virgin Vinyl
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Pallas
Label : Speakers Corner
Original Label : A&M
Recorded early 1968 at Olympic Studios and Trident Studios, London
Engineered and mixed by Tony Visconti
Produced by Denny Cordell
Lacquer cut at Universal M & L, Germany
Album design by Tom Wilkes
Photography by Martin Keeley, Eric Hays, Herb Greene
Originally released in April 1969
Reissued in March 2000
Tracks:
Side A:
- Feeling Alright
- Bye Bye Blackbird
- Change in Louise
- Marjorine
- Just Like a Woman
Side B:
- Do I Still Figure in Your Life?
- Sandpaper Cadillac
- Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
- With a Little Help from My Friends
- I Shall Be Released
Reviews :
“Joe Cocker's debut album holds up extraordinarily well across four decades, the singer's performance bolstered by some very sharp playing, not only by his established sideman/collaborator Chris Stainton, but also some top-notch session musicians, among them drummer Clem Cattini, Steve Winwood on organ, and guitarists Jimmy Page and Albert Lee, all sitting in. It's Cocker's voice, a soulful rasp of an instrument backed up by Madeline Bell, Sunny Weetman and Rossetta Hightower that carries this album and makes "Change in Louise," "Feeling Alright," "Just Like a Woman," "I Shall Be Released," and even "Bye Bye Blackbird" into profound listening experiences. But the surprises in the arrangements, tempo, and approaches taken help make this an exceptional album. Tracks like "Just Like a Woman," with its soaring gospel organ above a lean textured acoustic and light electric accompaniment, and the guitar-dominated rendition of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" -- the formal debut of the Grease Band on record -- all help make this an exceptional listening experience. The 1999 A&M reissue not only includes new notes and audiophile-quality sound, but also a pair of bonus tracks, the previously unanthologized B-sides "The New Age of Lily" and "Something Coming On," deserved better than the obscurity in which they previously dwelt.” AllMusic Friends Review by Bruce Eder
“With a Little Help From My Friends is the major triumph of rock interpretation thus far. Cocker's material leans to the conventional ... but his conception and performance, as well as Denny Cordell's production, are always audacious. His transformation of "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "A Little Help from My Friends" from light-hearted ditties into wails of human need succeeds perfectly, and his version of "Feelin' Alright" is not only better than Three Dog Night's but better than the original, by Dave Mason and Traffic. If that means Cocker is the best singer in England, well—overlook Mick Jagger and it's possible, even likely. His voice is very strong, influenced by Ray Charles, and he has no inhibitions about using it. All of his inhibitions came before the fact, in the immense care that went into each track ... Cocker's affection for rock is uniquely personalized. He is gruff and vulgar, perhaps a touch too self-involved, but his steady strength rectifies his excesses. He is the best of the male rock interpreters, as good in his way as Janis Joplin is in hers.” The New York Times Review by Robert Christgau
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 , Discogs : 4.2 / 5