What I'd planned to say in this post still rings true: no one could interpret a song quite like Cocker. Whether he was covering "The Letter" by The Box Tops, "Feelin' Alright" by Traffic, or "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" by the Beatles, he did so with such finesse, that each song felt like his own.
But it's his 1968 breakthrough single, his cover of Lennon-McCartney's "[With] A Little Help from My Friends," that remains the pinnacle of his interpretive powers for me. To be able to take a well-known song from arguably the most famous rock album of all time and transform it into singular gospel-tinged rave-up is beyond imagination.
In fact, for all the times that I watched the opening credits of my favorite 80s T.V. show The Wonder Years, it wasn't until the third season that it dawned on me: this is the same song as the bouncy boogie-woogie number that Ringo Starr sings on Sgt. Pepper's. It blew my pre-teen mind.
Not only does Cocker's voice sound fantastic on the track—kind of like a combination of Ray Charles and jazz/blues great Jimmy Rushing, rolled into one—but he also has one helluva backing band: BJ Wilson from the band Procol Harum on drums, session musician Tommy Eyre on organ, session bassist Chris Stainton, and an up-and-coming session guitarist by the name of Jimmy Page.
From the moment Eyre's churchy organ fades up and the rhythm section suddenly drops in with a thunderous thud, you can feel the electricity on this track. And that electricity is kicked up 1,000 volts when Page's guitar wails in. It's epic and thrilling, and this is all before Cocker and his backing singers even open their mouths!
But, oh, when they do begin to sing... It's pure, sweet soul. And it's life-affirming.
(R.I.P., Joe Cocker. You were one of a kind.)
No comments:
Post a Comment