Thursday, February 12, 2015

Joe Cocker - Fire It Up - Review



On “Fire It Up” Joe Cocker rocks out again with producer Matt Serletic. This album is a slick, polished production with a simpler approach in the arrangements that allows Joe and these songs to stand out more. Serletic helps further a continuity of a 'Joe Cocker Sound' that is a mixture of blues/rock – adult-contemporary, with a modern touch. There's no flashy musical hooks or solos, but all of the songs are truly outstanding. The track order is well planned and allows an overall album feel to develop.

The musical highlights include: Delicious Background Vocals with some Hammond Organ, Lighter more distinctive Drums, Blues/Rock Guitar, Occasional Acoustic Guitar, Clear Piano Play along with the occasional horns.

Joe Cocker is a gifted and soulful song stylist and seemed to always make his song selections his very own. Many of his versions have since become so associated with his voice and style, that other interpretations of the same songs seem empty and hollow.

Some artists' vocal abilities diminish with age, especially female vocalists, but that's not the case with some of the male vocalists, some age well. Joe is one of these exceptions, where his distinctive voice, matured with age, is as good as ever.

I rate this 4-Stars and say it's a must have. It's definitely an album you'll play over and over.

You can find it on Amazon or you could stream it from YouTube, whichever you choose, be sure to check it out.

Favorite tracks: Fire It Up, I'll Be Your Doctor, I Come in Peace, Eye on the Prize and I'll Walk In The Sunshine Again

Track Listing:
  1. "Fire It Up"
  2. "I'll Be Your Doctor"
  3. "You Love Me Back"
  4. "I Come in Peace"
  5. "You Don't Need a Million Dollars"
  6. "Eye on the Prize"
  7. "Younger"
  8. "You Don't Know What You're Doing to Me"
  9. "The Letting Go"
  10. "I'll Walk in the Sunshine Again"
  11. "Weight of the World"

The album clocks in at just over 42 minutes. There are extra tracks on a Jewel Case Edition and another Deluxe Edition also includes a DVD.


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