Joe Cocker – Joe Cocker (1969) [Audio Fidelity 2017] {SACD ISO + FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz}

Joe Cocker’s first three A&M albums form the bedrock of a career that spans over three decades. While Cocker certainly wasn’t always in top form during this stretch – thanks to alcohol problems and questionable comeback moves in the ’80s and ’90s – his early records did inform the classic pub rock sound later credited to proto-punk figures like Graham Parker and Brinsley Schwarz. On those early records, Cocker mixed elements of late-’60s English blues revival recordings (John Mayall, et al.) with the more contemporary sounds of soul and pop; a sound fused in no small part by producer and arranger Leon Russell, whose gumbo mix figures prominently on this eponymous release and the infamous Mad Dogs & Englishmen live set. Russell’s sophisticated swamp blues aesthetic is felt directly with versions of his gospel ballad “Hello, Little Friend” and Beatles-inspired bit of New Orleans pop – and one of Cocker’s biggest hits – “Delta Lady.” Following up on the huge success of an earlier cover of “With a Little Help From My Friends,” Cocker mines more Beatles gold with very respectable renditions of “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” and “Something.” And rounding out this impressive set are equally astute takes on Dylan’s “Dear Landlord,” Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on the Wire,” and John Sebastian’s “Darling Be Home Soon.” Throughout, Cocker gets superb support from his regular backing group of the time, the Grease Band. A fine introduction to the singer’s classic, late-’60s and early-’70s period.

Tracklist:
01. Dear Landlord
02. Bird On A Wire
03. Lawdy Miss Clawdy
04. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
05. Hitchcock Railway
06. That’s Your Business
07. Something
08. Delta Lady
09. Hello, Little Friend
10. Darling Be Home Soon

Mastered for this SACD by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
Authored by Stephen Marsh at Marsh Mastering.

SACD ISO

mqs.link_JeCckerJeCcker1969AudiFidelity2017SACDIS.part1.rar
mqs.link_JeCckerJeCcker1969AudiFidelity2017SACDIS.part2.rar

FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz

mqs.link_JeCckerJeCcker1969AudiFidelity2017FLAC2488.2.rar