Joe Cocker Hymn For My Soul CD

Even in his sixties, Joe Cocker is fully capable of releasing a soulful roar as powerful as that of his glory days. HYMN FOR MY SOUL finds the British belter adding a hint of gospel and a decided spiritual feeling to his trick bag without actually covering any gospel material. Ever the gifted interpreter, Cocker takes on everything from Bob Dylan's "Ring Them Bells" to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Long As I Can See the Light" and even the Beatles' "Come Together," his emotive rasp transforming them all into something uniquely his own. The title track, an Andy Fairweather-Low tune, combines greasy R&B with a gospel tint in a way that sums up the album's mixture of earthy emotion and upward aspirations.

The very title of Joe Cocker's Hymn for My Soul suggests that this, his 2007 studio album, is a gospel affair, or at least something inspired by faith -- something that isn't true to the letter, yet there is something true about the spirit of this sentiment, for these are songs that serve as a tonic to Cocker's soul. He's pulled songs from several familiar sources -- Stevie Wonder, George Harrison, Bob Dylan -- and found other newer songs that share a similar sentiment, offering reassuring thoughts in troubled times. While nobody could ever claim that this album -- produced by Ethan Johns, son of Glyn -- has any grit, it nevertheless is warmer than recent Cocker discs, boasting a soulful heart (even if it has been polished and cleaned until it sparkles). If this isn't enough to bring long-straying Cocker fans back into the fold, it nevertheless is his best record in recent memory, and will satisfy those who have been looking for nothing more than a good, solid album from him, which this surely is. [Fantasy's 2008 edition included one bonus track, "Come Together."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Recording information: Sunset Sound Studios, Los Angeles, CA.

Photographers: Andrew McPherson ; Jennifer Johns.

Personnel: Ethan Johns (guitar, acoustic guitar, hurdy-gurdy, ukulele, harmonium, background vocals); Greg Leisz (guitar, steel guitar, mandolin); T-Bone Wolk (guitar, bass guitar); Albert Lee , Mark Stewart (guitar); T Bone Burnett (baritone guitar); Julie Gigante, Phillipe Levy (violin); Brian Denbow (viola); David Low (cello); Tom Scott (saxophone); Chuck Findley, Greg Adams (trumpet); David Palmer (piano, Wurlitzer piano, organ, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards); Benmont Tench (piano); Rick Martinez (Clavinet); Mike Finnigan (Hammond b-3 organ); Bob Babbitt (bass guitar); Jim Keltner (drums, percussion); James Gadson, Charley Drayton (drums); Don Heffington (congas, triangle, vibraslap); Antonique Smith, Yassmin Alers, Benjamin Ochieng, Jim Gilstrap, Julia Waters, Julianna Raye, Merry Clayton, Oren Waters, Orfeh, Antonique Smith, Tata Vega, Tracy Nicole Chapman (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Ethan Johns; Mike Piersante.

Dirty Linen (p.74) - "[With] John Fogerty's 'Long As I Can See the Light.' Cocker transforms the song in his own image, and the result is possibly the highlight of the album. He brings it home, too, on George Harrison's 'Beware of Darkness'..."