Joe Cocker performed the first show of his Australian tour last night and the 63 year old son of a Sheffield steelworker was on fire.
Joe Cocker has always been a favourite for Australians. Maybe it is because our headline grabbing government of the time deported him and consequently made him a cult hero. Regardless, while his popularity h waned in other parts of the world, Australia has always treated Joe as a superstar. Last night's performance validated the Aussie admiration.Joe sourced his setlist almost completely from the new compilation 'Classic Cocker' and added three songs from the new album 'Hymn for my Soul'.
Cocker fans could not have hoped for a better setlist. The opening three songs 'Hitchcock Railway', into 'Feelin' Alright' and then 'The Letter' felt like an encore.
On the next song, the Bryan Adams penned 'When The Night Comes', Cocker blew the crowd away when he proved he still had his chops. He could still pull off the signature scream that he recorded on the original song in the 80s.
He slowed down for the hit ballad 'You Are So Beautiful', with Michelle Tillman doing a mighty good job of the original vocal handled by Jennifer Warnes.
Next, you could hear the proverbial pin drop when he sang his classic 'You Are So Beautiful'.
His recent cover of Loving Spoonful's 'Summer In The City' made the list, as did his new recording of The Beatles 'Come Together' for the 'Across The Universe' soundtrack.
The next two songs came from the new album 'Hymn for my Soul'. He performed the Dann Penn penned 'Don't Give Up On Me' and Andy Fairweather-Lowe's title track.
The classic Cocker continued.
He sang 'You Can Leave Your Hat On', went straight into 'Unchain My Heart', and then a stunning 'With A Little Help From My Friends that still had the ferocity of his '69 Woodstock performance.
That might have been it for Joe, but Melbourne was not going to let him get away so easy.
His encore songs were 'Delta Lady', 'She Came In Through The Bathroom Window' and 'Cry Me A River' before coming back on for a second encore and finishing with 'Long As I Can See the Light' from the new album.
Joe mentioned that this was his 15th Australian tour. Judging by the first night of the tour, this one is must see Cocker.
The setlist was:
Hitchcock Railway (from Joe Cocker, 1969)
Feelin' Alright (from With A Little Help From My Friends, 1969)
The Letter (from Mad Dogs & Englishmen, 1970)
When The Night Comes (from One Night Of Sin, 1989)
Up Where We Belong (from An Officer and a Gentleman, 1982)
You Are So Beautiful (from I Can Stand A Little Rain, 1974)
Summer In The City (from Have A Little Faith, 1994)
Come Together (from Across the Universe soundtrack, 2007)
Don't Give Up On Me (from Hymn For My Soul, 2007)
Hymn For My Soul (from Hymn For My Soul, 2007)
You Can Leave Your Hat On (from Cocker, 1986)
Unchain My Heart (from Unchain My Heart, 1987)
With A Little Help From My Friends (from With A Little Help From My Friends, 1969)
Delta Lady (from Joe Cocker, 1969)
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (from Joe Cocker, 1969)
Cry Me A River (from Mad Dogs & Englishmen, 1970)
Long As I Can See The Light (from Hymn For My Soul, 2007)
