Those of us who first saw Joe Cocker perform With a Little Help From My Friends when we watched Woodstock can never quite forget the joyous, spastic, musical trance state that he existed in. Joe at that moment was completely gonzo into the music and we all wanted to be there with him. During the late 60's to mid seventies Joe Cocker produced some interesting and entertaining music in his frenzied frenetic musical state. He has one of the great rock and roll/blues voices of the time.

Cocker often was able to infuse songs with more emotion and luster than when done by the original artists. With a Little Help from My Friends is one example. You just know that Cocker could use that extra little help from friends that he is asking for. Another is The Letter, he took the Boxtops rather complacent song and instilled depth of emotion and urgency into it.

This cd provides an array of songs covered from 1969 to 1976 by Joe Cocker. Some noteworthy ones were forgotten from his early albums as Cohen's Bird on a Wire and Hitchcock Railway. This does not quite match the quality of "Joe Cocker" cd or Mad Dogs and Englishmen, but it is a good overall compilation of this period.

Why is this called "Classics Volume 4", you may ask? Because back in 1987 A&M Records released a series of CDs featuring some of their most popular artists under the "Classics" title.

featured Herb Alpert,

featured the Carpenters,

featured Quincy Jones and Joe Cocker got Volume 4 (there were at least 20 other volumes of Classics). Joe's volume featured 13 of his most popular songs from the A&M years. It's a good selection of his hits, but it probably should have included "Put Out the Light". Not the best collection available, but if you can find a cheap used copy, it would be worth getting.

it is joe cocker, you already know what he sounds like. the title is "classics", and they are. a good way to have a lot of joe cocker sound in one place.

Do you need some driving music? This CD won't disappoint you and will keep you rockin' down the highway all night long. With the volume cranked up, you can't sit still...

Hey i'll have to disapoint you by saying this though. Don't bother with any CD of Joe Cocker's albums because for me i'd rather prefer a casual listener to get his Anthology [BOX SET]. You'll be surprise in what the results could be satisfied for sure instead!