Joe Cocker, the Britsh rhythm n' blues singer, who is an iconic figure in the rock n' roll world of the late 1960s and early 1970s also made a classic pop record as well. "Marjorine" was my favorite cut on Cocker's first album "With a Little Help From My Friends." I bought the album because the cover photo of Cocker was cool, and as a teenager into the product, I also liked the fact that famous musicians played on this album. The range of talent is amazing, and I remember listening to the album, to notice the difference between Jimmy Page and Albert Lee on "Marjorine." Throughout the album, you had musicians such as Tony Visconti, Carol Kaye (grand studio bassist), B.J. Wilson & Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum, Steve Winwood, and my favorite rock n' roll drummer Clem Cattini. How can this album fail?
"With A Little Help From My Friends" is one of the first 'superstar' players on one album, that marketed itself in a fashion, where one is aware of the backing musicians behind Cocker. Also, this first album has many great versions of incredible songs, and the choices that were made were wise and totally practical in Cocker's manner and voice. Still, the one song that impressed me the most was "Marjorine" which is a song co-written by Cocker. It stands out compared to the rest of the album, because for one it is an original song, in an album of mostly covers, and those songs I was already familiar with, especially "Bye Bye Blackbird" (classic American songbook material), and "Feeling Alright" by Dave Mason when he was in Traffic. Still, "Marjorine" had its own power, in that it's a beautiful melody, but performed with vigor by Cocker's voice, and the duo guitars of Page and Lee. Beautifully produced by Denny Cordell. It's shocking to me that this song was not a radio hit of the time of its released. I'm thrilled that I found this 45 rpm single in Rockaway Records here in Silver Lake.
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