With a Little Help from My Friends

by Joe Cocker

Overview

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. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	10/05/1999
Label:	A&M / Castle Music Ltd.
UPC:	0606949041922

Tracks

1. Feelin' Alright
2. Bye Bye Blackbird
3. Change in Louise
4. Marjorine
5. Just Like a Woman
6. Do I Still Figure in Your Life
7. Sandpaper Cadillac
8. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
9. With a Little Help from My Friends
10. I Shall Be Released
11. The New Age of Lily
12. Something's Coming On

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Joe Cocker   Primary Artist,Vocals
Brenda Holloway   Guest Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
B.J. Wilson   Guest Artist,Drums
Steve Winwood   Guest Artist,Organ,Keyboards
Matthew Fisher   Guest Artist,Organ
Albert Lee   Guest Artist,Guitar
Chris Stainton   Guest Artist,Bass,Organ,Piano,Keyboards
Jimmy Page   Guest Artist,Guitar
Merry Clayton   Guest Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Sunny Wheetman   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Laudir Soares   Tumba,Maracas
David Cohen   Guitar,Guitar
Clem Cattini   Drums
Laudir DeOliveira   Percussion
Tony Visconti   Guitar
Mike Kellie   Drums
Sunny Leslie   Vocals
Artie Butler   Piano
Paul Humphries   Drums
Carol Kaye   Bass
Madeline Bell   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Tommy Eyre   Organ,Keyboards
Henry McCullough   Guitar
Patrice Holloway   Vocals
Paul Humphrey   Drums
Sue Glover   Vocals
Rosetta Hightower   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Kenny Slade   Drums

Technical Credits

Tom Rattigan   Composer
Frank Myles   Composer
Frank Miles   Composer
Jimmy Page   Soliste
Chris Stainton   Composer
Joe Cocker   Composer
Bennie Benjamin   Composer
Gloria Caldwell   Composer
Dave Mason   Composer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Sol Marcus   Composer
B. Benjamin   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Tony Visconti   Mixing,Soliste
Mort Dixon   Composer
S. Marcus   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Ray Henderson   Composer
Denny Cordell   Producer
Pete Dello   Composer
G. Caldwell   Composer
Nick Harrison   String Arrangements