I've loved Joe Cocker since I was in high school and somebody at some point (I can't remember who but it was probably in my family compact disc store where I worked at the time) put on his version of With a Little Help From My Friends. It wasn't an immediate love if I recall. Having been a fan of the Beatles' version of the song, I wanted the Tin Pan Alley Billy Shears style version only to find this spaced out drugged up sounding epic jam with a screaming madman at the center of it. But after a few listens, I clocked the size of the balls it must have taken to mount this version of such a beloved song. And I started to sway along with that cracked and weathered growl, and I was hooked. Then the Unchain the Night album came out and from then on I bought every album the man made. They weren't all gold, to be sure. Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight (Unchain the Night, When the Night Comes) were certainly the best fit as producers of Joe's later career and it's too bad they didn't do more albums with him. But there were always gems, and there was always that voice. That amazing howl that could go from tender to broken in about half a second. I should note that Joe is one of those artists whose catalogue is SCREAMING OUT for a box set of unreleased songs, b-sides, and soundtrack entries (three of which are included here). I wish I knew who to contact to get the job of compiling this thing because I want this stuff out in a decent copy of some sort. Almost all of these songs are a testament to why I can never JUST go with a streaming service alone but require either a turntable or a streaming service which also allows cloud space for my own music that isn't available in their library (which is why I use Apple, although even that has issues but maybe that's a topic for another blog post). All but one of these songs are extremely hard to find (unless you dupe them from YouTube with very poor sound quality as I've done here). Without further ado, here are 5 of my favorite Joe Cocker Deep Cuts.
1) Love Lives On (from the Harry and the Hendersons Sountrack) - I believe this song started Joe's association with Dan and Charlie and while some may find it treacly, I think it's one of the best ballads he ever did. His voice is killer on it. There are 2 versions of the track. The one actually in the movie features a synthesized flute solo to open the song and the version on the soundtrack begins with a sax solo. I chose the sax version, but the video is pretty dull as it was the only one I had to choose from. C'mon couldn't they make some of the images less blurry? Jeez
2) We Stand Alone (from the Wildcats Soundtrack) - another great track with Joe in great vocal form. This is impossible to find unless you track down a vinyl copy, and I only had one video to choose from so you get only a static picture of Joe, but the song is killer.
3) Edge of a Dream (from the Teachers Soundtrack) - Another great ballad with a catchy as fuck chorus that lets Joe wail. This video is much more interesting at least as it's from Solid Gold around the time that the movie came out and features a live band (Solid Gold would later go to full lip syncing).
4) Not Too Young to Die of a Broken Heart - A b-side from the Night Calls album, this is boith rocking and funky and features Joe at the peak of his powers vocally.
5) I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today - This is the one song on my list that might be easiest to track down as it's sometimes featured on his hit collections although it's generally not listed in his catalogue as it was simply a guest spot on a Crusaders track but at the time, after Joe had been gone for many years in the wilderness of drink and drugs and excess, it was certainly regarded as a comeback of sorts.
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