Friday, April 10, 2020

A Big Cup O' Joe

That Joe Cocker survived at all is a thing of wonder. That he made such great music while he was beating himself up so hard is something to celebrate. The short Grease Band period between his first chart hits and the global exposure of Woodstock produced some swell music that the Mad Dogs caravan drowned out, but not on th' Isle O' Foam©.

 Second album was re-titled Joe Cocker! and suffered horrible repackaging before release. Fabulous and rare original A Mongrel, Sir? cover and a couple xtry trx restored here.
Third studio album Something To Say, brilliantly [irony advisory - Ed.] re-titled Joe Cocker for the U.S. and A., got two messed-up 'seventies covers (this was peak airbrush, the worst thing ever to happen to the graphic arts) and a low chart placing that disappeared quicker than a line of coke from a hooker's mirror.
On Air is a fine collection of live BBC tracks recorded '68-'69 - primo Grease!
As a Foam Bonus®, the two Grease Band albums recorded without Cocker. They show what fine musicians they were, but we already knew that. Eponymous album got support from Leon Russell, pretty nifty cover, inaudible cash register echo.

Four years later, the band tried again with Amazing Grease, which didn't get a U.S. release in spite of an inspired title. The Curse Of The Airbrush was still in effect.

No Joe = no juice, no java, and no ju-ju.


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15 comments:

  1. Kwai ChangApril 10, 2020 at 9:15 AM

    Well, at least nobody suggested a Dodge Tradesman 100(MOST popular mural van). In his heyday(Joe Cocker, With A Little Help, Mad Dogs)...Joe was pure contrast with himself and his own fashion strategies were only realized from the waste down. Really nice pants/boots...were a diametric opposition to the shirt department so, he rendered his own need for airbrushing futile. Joe was the mural and it didn't matter what vehicle was being used as a canvas. The man jammed with The Welshman(Tom Jones) and that took more courage than will fit in an airbrush. Leon Russell might have been too much safety net...but Jimmy Page knew how to navigate the studio Joe. I love animals, and while the Mongrel cover barks out "my client is guilty"...Joe might have loved animals, too. If only music was kind to all creatures...I'm sure that the poor dog just didn't know what the gig was really about. Somewhere between the ASPCA and a bloke from Sheffield somebody owned an airbrush. I'll Cry Instead was a valiant debut...but that was probably about a matching 3-piece tweed affair. Henry McCullough is also really good about fashion but, his guitar playing suits Joe perfectly. I'm going to do this in a Superman tank-top and see what kind of mad dog I might really be.
    Or, Englishman...
    KC

    What do you call Joe Cocker in a suit? (The Defendant)

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    1. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIApril 10, 2020 at 9:32 AM

      Isle O'Foam© passport holders may remember Kwai Chang's line of Tupperware© "Drug Smuggler" containers. That see-thru false bottom ensured zero take-up among its target base.

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    2. Kwai ChangApril 10, 2020 at 10:55 AM

      I shopped the line to many early head shops...but no dice. The closest I came to a real sale was the Aphrodisiac Waterbeds store on Pico in Santa Monica. But the deal fell through when the owner refused to give me a wholesale price on a DEERING grinder. Neither product was very stealthy. If only I had them airbrushed the 'perfect wave' surfer scene. Endless Bummer!
      KC

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  2. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIApril 10, 2020 at 9:28 AM

    To qualify for today's Hamper O' Harmony©, simply name a Biff Rose song. Who said life was easy?

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    1. OAApril 10, 2020 at 10:17 AM

      Does Molly count? seems too easy.

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    2. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIApril 10, 2020 at 10:23 AM

      Too easy for you, perhaps, but I'm betting a couple of th' 4/5 Guys are still thinking I meant Tim Rose, or Biff McShaughnessy, heavyweight champ of th' Five Boros in '49.

      We're on dial-up out here, so link is still struggling to get through the Van Allen Belt.

      Delete
    3. OAApril 11, 2020 at 7:35 AM

      I have to give the credit to Vin Scelsa for "edjumacating" back in the day. He often shared the under-appreciated.

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    4. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIApril 11, 2020 at 8:26 AM

      Whatever happened to Vinnie? Last I heard he was doin' six to twelve at Riker's Island.

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  3. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIApril 10, 2020 at 10:25 AM

    Stealth Link

    HERE!

    NOT HERE!

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  4. JohnApril 10, 2020 at 10:42 AM

    Great post! The first two JC albums plus the studio side of "Something To Say". Stellar contributions from unsung heroes Henry McCulloch and (especially) Chris Stainton. And let's not forget Clarence White's cameos on Dear Landlord and She Came In Through The Bathroom Window.
    The Grease Band albums are well worth owning. They and Brinsley Schwarz were the foremost UK exponents of Band-influenced country rock in the early seventies.
    Welcome back btw...

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    1. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIApril 10, 2020 at 10:51 AM

      Swell to see you here, obscurely-yclept John. Don't forget to check out th' new interactive "reactions" feature! Oboy!

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  5. Jack Kerouac's CatApril 10, 2020 at 8:53 PM

    Biff Rose was a thorn in Mr. Cocker's Side, No really.

    Joe Cocker's Misheard Lyrics with subtitles over here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcLnuEpQ1yg

    Thanks for the muse.

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  6. MrDaveApril 10, 2020 at 9:27 PM

    I think we're all going to look like Joe before this whole coed19vid.exe virus thing is over. Thanks for the froth!

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  7. RhodbApril 11, 2020 at 6:15 AM

    Joe from a working class plumber to a world super star, got lost somewhere in the middle but started to come out the other side.

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    1. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIApril 11, 2020 at 6:33 AM

      He stabilized, an amazing achievement, and the last stretch of his career, touring Europe to crowds who loved him, was no cabaret sell-out or Greatest Hits Medley Revue, but a sincere and successful swan-song. I saw him in Switzerland, with Dr. John and Ray Charles, and he was in every way their equal on-stage, and evidently more loved than either. An incredible guy.

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