Mad Dogs & Englishmen

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Music from the Original Soundtrack

Mad Dogs & Englishmen

Live album by Joe Cocker

Publication
(s)

Sep 18, 1970 (UK / USA)

Label (s) A&M Records (Universal)

Format (s)

CD, LP, DVD

Genre (s)

skirt

Title (number)

16 (Original) 26 (Deluxe)

running time

73m15s (Original) 136m38s (Deluxe)

occupation see below

production

Denny Cordell and Leon Russell

chronology
Joe Cocker
(1969) 		Music from the Original Soundtrack

Mad Dogs & Englishmen

Something to Say
(1972)

Mad Dogs & Englishmen was a tour by British blues / rock singer Joe Cocker , the recordings of which were released as a live album and concert film .

album

The album was released in September 1970 following the tour of the same name. It was released on A&M Records (6002). The songs were recorded in Bill Graham's legendary Fillmore East on March 27 and 28, 1970 by the equally legendary recording technician Edwin Kramer . In Great Britain the record reached number 16, in the USA it even reached number 2 in the album charts . In the original version, the album consists of two long-playing records , which are now available on one CD . In November 2005 a deluxe edition was also released on double CD. This edition also contains 12 unpublished demos , studio and concert recordings of the tour.

Meaning and background

Joe Cocker's manager Dee Anthony had already booked the entire tour when Cocker decided to cancel it due to personal problems. Due to the sudden success and countless previous tours, he was under considerable stress. Cocker dissolved his Grease Band . Since Anthony threatened to sue him for breach of contract, Cocker still had to agree to the tour. He then contacted the music producer and session musician Leon Russell , who within a few days put together a 21-piece band with several drummers , guitarists , wind players and percussionists . The team that Russell gathered around Joe Cocker consisted of ten background singers and eleven respected professional musicians, including Chris Stainton , Jim Price , Rita Coolidge and members of the bands Delaney & Bonnie ( Bobby Keys , Jim Keltner ) and Derek and the dominos . With this spontaneously put together big band behind him, which is considered to be one of the best formations that Cocker ever had, the singer reached unexpected top form.

The tour began on March 20, 1970 in Detroit under the name "Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs & Englishmen". It lasted 56 days and led the 50-strong team, which consisted of the musicians, their families, technicians, roadies , groupies and a complete film crew, through 48 cities in the USA . The tour ended on May 16 in San Bernardino ( California ). The road was like the boisterous community of a large hippie commune ; For Cocker, despite great achievements, it meant another mental and physical decline, which he promoted with considerable substance abuse . Financially, the tour was also considered a disaster.

The lively and at the same time chaotic atmosphere of the concerts are immortalized both in the film and on the album and went down in the history of rock music because of their authenticity . The track list consists mainly of cover versions of famous hits of that time, which are performed with a lot of passion and soul feeling .

The idea for the album title came from producer Denny Cordell . It is a quote from a satirical song by Noël Coward on the British colonial era ("The Japanese don't care to, the Chinese wouldn't dare to, but mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun").

Track list (original version)

  1. Introduction - 0:44
  2. Honky Tonk Women ( Mick Jagger / Keith Richards ) - 3:47
  3. Introduction - 0:17
  4. Sticks and Stones ( Titus Turner / Henry Glover ) - 2:37
  5. Cry Me a River ( Arthur Hamilton ) - 4:00
  6. Bird on the Wire ( Leonard Cohen ) - 6:37
  7. Feelin 'Alright ( Dave Mason ) - 5:47
  8. Superstar ( Leon Russell / Bonnie Bramlett ) - 5:02
  9. Introduction - 0:16
  10. Let's Go Get Stoned ( Valerie Simpson / Nickolas Ashford / Joseph Armstead ) - 7:30
  11. Blue Medley : - 12:46
    I'll Drown in My Own Tears (Henry Glover)
    When Something Is Wrong with My Baby ( Isaac Hayes / David Porter )
    I've Been Loving You Too Long ( Otis Redding / Jerry Butler )
  12. Introduction - 0:21
  13. Girl from the North Country ( Bob Dylan ) - 2:32
  14. Please Give Peace a Chance (Leon Russell / Bonnie Bramlett) - 4:14
  15. Introduction - 0:41
  16. She Came in Thru the Bathroom Window ( Lennon / McCartney ) - 3:01
  17. Space Captain ( Matthew Moore ) - 5:15
  18. The Letter ( Wayne Carson ) - 4:46
  19. Delta Lady (Leon Russell) - 5:40

The Deluxe Edition also contains other classics such as B. George Harrisons Something , Robbie Robertsons The Weight , John Sebastian's Darling Be Home Soon and With a Little Help from My Friends by John Lennon and Paul McCartney .

occupation

  • Choir / Background Vocals: Don Preston, Rita Coolidge , Claudia Lennear, Daniel Moore, Donna Weiss, Pamela Polland, Matthew Moore, Donna Washburn, Nicole Barclay, Bobby Jones
  • Arrangements: Leon Russell and Chris Stainton
  • Location Engineer: Eddie Kramer
  • Mixdown and Master Engineer: Glyn Johns

literature

  • Julian P. Bean: With a Little Help from My Friends. Joe Cocker. Success through hell. Authorized biography . Hannibal-Verlag, Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-85445-064-8 .
  • Petra Zeitz : Joe Cocker . Bastei Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1993, ISBN 3-404-61256-6 .

Web links