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| Live! The Letter, Cry Me A River, Delta Lady, Feelin’ Alright, Sticks & Stones, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, extra tracks, etc. |
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| 1 Honky Tonk Woman |
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| 2 She Came in Through the Bathroom Window |
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| 3 The Weight |
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| 4 Sticks and Stones |
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| 5 Bird on a Wire |
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| 6 Cry Me a River |
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| 7 Superstar |
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| 8 Feelin' Alright |
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| 9 Something |
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| 10 Darling Be Home Soon |
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| 11 Let It Be |
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| 12 Further on Up the Road |
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| 13 Let's Go Get Stoned |
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| 14 Space Captain |
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| 15 Hummingbird |
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| 16 Dixie Lullaby |
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| 17 The Letter |
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| 18 Delta Lady |
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| 19 Give Peace a Chance |
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| 20 Blue Medley: I'll Drown in My Own Tears/When Something Is Wrong ... |
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| 21 With a Little Help from My Friends |
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| 22 Girl from the North Country |
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| 23 Warm-Up Jam: Under My Thumb |
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| 24 The Letter |
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| 25 Space Captain |
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Album Review
Listening to this CD brings back a lot of memories. "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" was just about the most elaborate album that A&M Records had ever released, back in 1971, a double-LP in a three-panel, fold-out, gatefold sleeve, with almost 80 minutes of music inside and a ton of photos, graphics, and annotation wrapping around it. A live recording done in tandem with a killer documentary film of the same U.S. tour, it was recorded at the Fillmore East, where the movie was a cross-country affair, and the two were, thus, completely separate entities -- also, as people couldn't "buy" the film in those days, the double-LP has lingered longer in the memory, by virtue of its being on shelves, and also being taken off those shelves to be played. Unlike a lot of other "coffee table"-type rock releases of the era, such as "Woodstock" and "The Concert For Bangladesh", people actually listened to "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" -- most of its content was exciting, and its sound, a veritable definition of big band rock with three dozen players working behind the singer, was unique. The CD offers a seriously good sound, whether it's just Cocker and a pianist and organist in the opening of "Bird On A Wire," or the entire band going full-tilt on "Cry Me A River"; the remastering was set at a high volume level and there was a decent amount of care taken to get the detail right, so you can appreciate the presence of the multiple drummers, and the legion of guitarists and singers, plus the multiple keyboard players -- the lead guitar and solo piano on "Feelin' Alright," for example come through -- but so do the 34 other players and singers behind the lead. This record was also just as much a showcase for Leon Russell as it was for Joe Cocker, which A&M probably didn't mind a bit, as Russell was selling millions of records at the time. As we now know, and it's recounted in the new notes, the tour from which this album was drawn all-but-wiped out Joe Cocker -- on a psychic level -- the music was presented on such a vast scale (and there is a moment in the movie where he mentions breaking up his former backing group, the Grease Band, with a hint of regret in his voice) and his own contribution was so muted by Russell's work as arranger and bandleader. He may well have been the "victim" of a "hijacking" of sorts, but the musical results, apart from the dubious "Give Peace A Chance," are difficult to argue about upon hearing this record anew, 30-plus years after the fact -- it's almost all bracing and beautiful. [In 2005 "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" was reissued in a 2CD "Deluxe Edition" with eight previously unreleased live performances inserted throughout the discs and four rare studio recordings tacked onto the end. The new live performances are longer and looser and Leon Russell plays an even bigger role. They're excellent, as are the stereo studio mixes of "The Letter" and "Space Captain", available for the first time here.] ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
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• Biography
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Other albums by: Joe Cocker |
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