Joe Cocker - Cry Me A River (1980)

The Joe Cocker DVD Cry Me A River, dug out from the Rockpalast vaults, is a 1980 concert filmed at the Berlin’s famous Metropol. This is Cocker before he gained MOR appeal, and a few years after the furor of Mad Dogs And Englishmen. A fairly basic shot with the occasional view from the back of the house, this is a no-frills DVD of Joe Cocker doing what he does best and playing his greatest songs.
The backing vocal trio get the whole thing started with “Cry Me A River,” basically singing the song all the way through until Cocker comes to finish it with a few lines. After that, we’re off to the races with “Feelin’ Alright,” which is played with a softer groove. The band is tight and we know we are in for, at the very least, a competent show. The solid gospel of “Put Out The Light” follows before Cocker and the band roll into a nice surprise, “Whiter Shade Of Pale.” This Procol Harum classic sounds great with Cocker’s rough voice. “Delta Lady” is next, then a pumping “Hitchcock Railway,” “Sweet Forgiveness” and “You Are So Beautiful.” Cocker is in full control and suitable range the whole time. As a performer, he doesn’t really give you much. He doesn’t talk to the audience and he doesn’t really move well (not like at Woodstock). Nevertheless, he command the stage standing at the mike and opening his mouth.
There’s “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” with a low groove that doesn’t really ever get going for me. “The Letter” just smokes and “High Time We Went” is maybe the best Cocker‘s voice sounds on the disc. Forgiving the garish pastels of 80s stage clothes (or was that how even our street clothes looked back then?) and the fact that Joe Cocker, while a legend, was certainly not enjoying a wave of popularity in 1980 — which he would later in the decade — this is a pretty decent representation of a solid Cocker concert. There aren’t many surprises on Cry Me A River, but you get all the hits you’d expect with a chance to see and hear one of the most distinctive voices in rock and roll. ~Vintagerock

Tracks:
1. Cry Me A River
2. Can't Say No
3. Feelin' Alright
4. Look What You’ve Done
5. Put Out The Light
6. A Whiter Shade Of Pale
7. Delta Lady
8. I'm So Blue
9. Fun Time
10. Just Like Always
11. Jealous Kind
12. Hitchcock Railway
13. Watching The River Flow
14. Sweet Forgiveness
15. You Are So Beautiful
16. With A Little Help From My Friends
17. Wasted Years
18. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
19. The Letter
20. High Time I Went

Bonus Tracks - Loreley 1983:
21. A Girl Like You
22. Innercity Blues
23. Don't Talk To Me
24. Many Rivers To Cross
25. I Threw It Away
26. Seven Days
27. You Are So Beautiful
28. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress


Big thx to YWM1957