Joe Cocker – Cry Me A River (Eagle DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: D     Concert: B-

 

 

Though some think of him as a one-note singer thanks to hits like Up Were We Belong and the pop trivialization of his career by his remarkable remake of The Beatles’ With A Little Help From My Friends thanks to the TV hit The Wonder Years, Joe Cocker remains a survivor and at his best is one of the greatest singer in all of Rock music.  Recorded back in 1980 at Berlin’s famous Metropol, the singer had not has a U.S. hit in five years, yet Cry Me A River shows that he was a very formidable singer and delivers a strong hour-long concert here.

 

The songs include:

 

1)     Cry Me A River

2)     Feelin’ Alright

3)     Put Out The Light

4)     A Whiter Shade Of Pale

5)     Delta Lady

6)     Hitchcock Railway

7)     Sweet Forgiveness

8)     You Are So Beautiful

9)     With A Little Help From My Friends

10)  I Heard It Through The Grapevine

11)  The Letter

12)  High Time We Went

 

 

Unlike most performers who dare, Cocker knows how to cover a song by not just doing a paint-by-numbers recycle, but revising it and making it his own and here, he is at the top of his game and vocal powers.  When you finish watching, you realize why he was such a phenomenon and a force of nature in music.  It is nice to see this classic performance on DVD and except for being too short, you should mark it as a must-see.

 

The 1.33 X 1 is soft as expected for an older analog taping in what looks like the PAL video format, but it has not aged too badly.  The sound is here in DTS 5.1, lesser Dolby Digital 5.1, but is obviously not a show recorded with multi-channel in mind.  With that said, it sounds very good for its age.  There are no extras.

 

For a sample of some of his more recent work, try this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/174/Joe+Cocker+-+Respect+Yourself+(CD)

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo