Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WHAT A BORN NATURAL, SOULFUL SINGER !!! BRAVO, JOE COCKER !!!, April 22, 2008
The Ultimate Collection by Joe Cocker may not have all of his best hits; but this is still a pretty good compilation nevertheless. The sound quality is excellent and I like the artwork. This CD is a must-have for Joe Cocker fans.
"With A Little Help From My Friends" is partially a cover a this famous tune by The Beatles; but when Joe Cocker performs his own rendition this number takes flight just about as good as when The Beatles performed it! The backup chorus bolsters Joe Cocker's performance and overall he delivers this ballad with a great deal of sensitivity. It makes a great beginning for this album. "Feelin' Alright" is a rockin' tune that has a catchy, almost irresistible melody to it; and Joe Cocker performs this without a single superfluous note! The percussion helps to mark the beat but there's an excellent arrangement for the piano--I love it!
"She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" is another cover of a Beatles tune; and Joe would make The Beatles proud with his sublime rendition! Joe sings this very well and the somewhat jazzy musical arrangement embellishes the number a great deal. Listen also for a live recording of "Cry Me A River;" this gets a jazzy, somewhat rock and roll treatment for this classic ballad made so famous by the great Julie London. In addition, "You Are So Beautiful" is clearly one of the greatest love songs ever written--Joe Cocker sings this with passion, heart and soul. It always amazes me to hear Joe sing "You Are So Beautiful."
"Up Where We Belong" is another duet made famous by both Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. The two artists complement each other rather well and this makes "Up Where We Belong" a solid number. There's also a "90s version" of "Unchain My Heart." "Unchain My Heart" really rocks and it sounds very good! The backup chorus enhances the natural beauty of this ballad. Awesome!
"Summer In The City" is a fine cover that gets a somewhat Caribbean treatment from Joe and his musician friends; the tempo slows down and the melody overall is very pretty. "Sail Away" is a tender number that touches me when I hear it; and the album also ends very strong with Joe Cocker performing "First We Take Manhattan." "First We Take Manhattan" rocks and only Joe Cocker could make this tune sound so good!
Joe Cocker possesses a great talent and we are all better off for his sharing his giftedness with us. This is a great Joe Cocker album for his fans; and it's also a great starter CD for people just discovering the fine artistry of Joe Cocker.
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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"many legendary hits from the past ~ Joe Cocker", January 13, 2004
Hip-O Records presents "Ultimate Collection-Joe Cocker", featuring an anthology from 1969 through 2000 with a masterpiece within each cue ~ some signature tunes appear making this a not to be missed album that will fit nicely on the shelf of anyone's collection.Opening track "WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS", the great Lennon/McCartney song is a blanket of hits the Beatles that gave Cocker became a huge, huge hit in his career ~ "DELTA LADY", composer Leon Russell gave Joe the funky ingredients he needed to make this his own ~ "SHE CAME IN THROUGH THE BATHROOM WINDOW", an emotional lyrical tone with another Beatles endeavor ~ "THE LETTER", if it's blues you're craving, then my friend you've arrived...sit back and give this a serious listen ~ "YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL", the 1974 hit with piano and bass, shows another side of Cocker with heartfelt admiration for the girl he loves ~ "UP WHERE WE BELONG", simple ballad with Jennifer Warnes with the problems that arise in a relationship ~ "SHELTER", get ready for some fancy footwork, Cocker at his rockin' best (this is more than a toe-tapping track) ~ "SUMMER IN THE CITY", a catchy tune, soak up the beat and you're hooked ~ "SAIL AWAY", Randy Newman composed and sits in at the piano, a message that hits the mark everytime...a perfect bullseye! For many Cocker fans, there are titles missing ~ but give this a listen and enjoy the twenty songs from the past thirty years...gotta love it! Total Time: 79:59 on 20 Tracks ~ Hip-O Records 61208 ~ (1/13/2004)
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joe Cocker Ultimate Collection, January 26, 2006
I used to hate Joe Cocker, because I thought to myself, Who is this clown who thinks he can cash in on Beatles songs? But over time I came to see it as, Wow--this guy has the balls to try covering Beatles songs!
Joe has seriously got to be the most soulful white guy in history. Listen to "Feelin Alright" and "The Letter" back-to-back, you'll know what I mean. He is like a white, male Aretha Franklin. He is an amazing vocal talent, and I only wish I'd given him a chance sooner so I could have enjoyed him for that much longer. "Feelin Alright" is such a great song, musically and lyrically, that nothing could ever happen to me so bad that this song wouldn't make me feel better. The chorus goes, "You're feeling alright/I'm not feeling too good myself/You're feeling alright/I'm not feelin alright myself." But the music is so good that, ironically, while the lyrics commiserate with you, the music makes you better--so that by the the 2-minute mark you can no longer relate to the words. I'm serious, my grandma could die and my dog get hit by a car and I think Feelin Alright would still have me singing along by the second chorus. This song alone is worth the price of the CD.
The other songs are great, too. He really, really knew how to choose cover songs that fit his style. "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" is on the short list for my favorite Beatles song, but I actually like Joe's version a little better than the original.
I must admit--the songs start getting pretty unbearably sappy and/or cheesy after song ten or so. But you NEED to have the first 5 songs on this album, so if not by getting this, then by getting the early original albums they are from.
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