| With a Little Help from My Friends | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Joe Cocker | ||||
| Released | 23 April 1969 | |||
| Recorded | Early 1968 at Olympic Studios and Trident Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Rock/Blues | |||
| Length | 45:06 | |||
| Label | Regal Zonophone (UK) A&M (U.S.) Stateside (France) Polydor (Sweden) Cube (Netherlands) |
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| Producer | Denny Cordell | |||
| Joe Cocker chronology | ||||
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With a Little Help from My Friends is the first album by singer Joe Cocker, released in 1969. It was certified gold in the U.S. and peaked at #35 on the Billboard 200.
The title track was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and originally performed by The Beatles; it has been inducted into both the Grammy Award Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[1] Cocker's version was the theme song to the television series The Wonder Years during the 1980s and 1990s.
Contents |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [2] |
| Rolling Stone | (favourable)[3] |
With a Little Help from My Friends met with a favourable review from Rolling Stone's John Mendelsohn. Mendelsohn stated that "Cocker has assimilated the [Ray] Charles influence to the point where his feeling for what he is singing cannot really be questioned. And, in answer to the question of why someone should listen to Cocker when there is Charles to listen to – how many times in recent years has the latter applied himself to such exceptional modern material [...] or such contemporary Dylan... ?" He also stated that "Cordell's success in fusing a consistently marvelous backing unit out of America's premier studio soul singers and England's most famous rock musicians and delicate egos cannot be exaggerated." He concluded that "it's a triumph all around. And the thought of Cocker's next album [...] is an exceptionally pleasant one."[3]
A retrospective review from Allmusic's Bruce Eder was fairly positive. Eder stated that the album "holds up extraordinarily well across four decades, the singer's performance bolstered by some very sharp playing, [...] It's Cocker's voice, a soulful rasp of an instrument [...] that carries this album and makes "Change in Louise," "Feeling Alright," "Just Like a Woman," "I Shall Be Released," and even "Bye Bye Blackbird" into profound listening experiences." He concluded that "the surprises in the arrangements, tempo, and approaches taken help make this an exceptional album. Tracks like "Just Like a Woman," with its soaring gospel organ above a lean textured acoustic and light electric accompaniment, and the guitar-dominated rendition of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" [...] all help make this an exceptional listening experience."[2]
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