The unmistakable voice of Joe Cocker is in fine form on the bluesy soul singer’s twenty-first studio album Hard Knocks. Known for his hit-producing penchant for making other artists’ songs his own, Cocker’s current crop of cuts bucks that trend; Hard Knocks features ten new numbers and just one lone cover, his take on country superstars the Dixie Chicks “I Hope,” originally found as the final track on their brilliant 2007 Grammy-winning album Taking the Long Way. Over forty years into a stellar career, Cocker found his way a long time ago.
Cry Me A River: Joe Cocker has certainly seen his share of musical trends come and go, but he’s always found a way to navigate through the latest flavor of the month formats by virtue of his tremendous talent and attention-grabbing voice. When asked to describe the overall sound of Hard Knocks, he candidly replies, “I don’t really know what you would call this album: rock/pop? It’s a little more pop than what I’ve been into for quite awhile so it would scare me sometimes.” Despite his fears, the results on this new record are nothing if not frighteningly good.
The album begins with the title track, a song Cocker says was fueled by his recent reflections on his life. “I’ve spent probably more time on the streets than being educated,” he confesses. “Fans who’ve been around long enough to remember me all those years ago will probably understand the album title.” Producer Matt Serletic (Santana, Collective Soul) helped Cocker tell his tale of absorbing life’s hard knocks. “I said that I wanted to make a modern record, but not too modern,” said Cocker. “I know I’ve got to compete with 25 year old kids here, but I’m not Green Day and all that. I felt the vibe from him that we could make something a little different together.”
The bulk of Hard Knocks was recorded in Serletic’s studio in Los Angeles, but the aforementioned “I Hope” was cut in Nashville with legendary producer Tony Brown, a guy who once played piano for none other than Elvis Presley. “I used to take a lot of flak for doing covers…” Cocker recalls. “And in mid-production everyone was saying, ‘Well, Joe, they are going to expect a couple of covers…’ But when I finally delivered ten tunes they were happy enough…”
In addition to “I Hope” and the title track, Hard Knocks holds nine more powerful performances: “Get On,” “Unforgiven,” “The Fall,” “So it Goes,” “Runaway Train,” “Stay the Same,” “So,” “Forever Changed,” and the emotionally-charged epic “Thankful,” a potential future Cocker classic reminiscent of “When the Night Comes.” Some say Joe Cocker has carved out a four-decade plus career singing other people’s songs brilliantly - on Hard Knocks he proves – once again – that those who would hold that view simply don’t know what they’re talking about.
Taking The Punches: Check out a cool clip of Cocker discussing the making of Hard Knocks:
As A Matter of Fact…
* Joe Cocker was born John Robert Cocker on May 20, 1944 in Crookes, Sheffield, England.
* In 1960, Cocker formed his first group, the Cavaliers; in 1961 he began performing under the name Vance Arnold and formed Vance Arnold and the Avengers; in 1966, he formed the Grease Band; in 1969, to fulfill a contractual obligation to tour the U.S., Cocker formed Mad Dogs and Englishmen, a group whose members sometimes swelled to as many as 30 musicians and singers, including Leon Russell and Rita Coolidge.
* In 2007, Cocker had a small role in the film Across the Universe, singing the Beatles classic “Come Together.”
* Joe Cocker will kick off a brief three-city South American tour on March 13 in Lima, Peru. Two days later he’ll perform in Santiago, Chile, and on March 19 he’ll sing in Buenos Aires, Argentina.