Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs & Englishmen

Impressively directed by Pierre Adidge - "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" certainly captures the raw intensity of singer, Joe Cocker as he goes into yet another spastic rendition of some great rock, blues, and soul songs (all recorded before a live audience).

Released in 1970 - This live-concert documentary covers Cocker's tour of the US (from Detroit to San Francisco). And we look on as Cocker gets by with a little help from his friends.

IMO - Joe Cocker (gravel-voice, and all) was a unique performer from his generation.

This music-documentary not only looks at touring and backstage life for Joe, but it also includes performances by Leon Russell and Rita Coolidge, as well.

"Note" - In 2014 - Joe Cocker (70 at the time) died of lung cancer. He had been a heavy smoker all his adult life.

MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMAN: A great film and is a statement of Rock History because of the people involved. Joe Cocker asked Leon to get some mates together as this tour was to get off the ground right away. For the most part Leon just pulled Delaney & Bonnie's Band right out from under them. Jim (not John) Price, Bobbie Keys, (who both later went with the Rolling Stones and then the Blues Brothers), Rita Coolidge,(who did a solo "SUPERSTAR" which was cut from the first video issue because of A&M problems) She has since recorded out of Japan and Canada and sings with her sister Priscilla and her niece Laura Satterfield in a group called Walela. Jim Gordon, (who co-wrote LAYLA) Carl Radle and of course sometimes Leon. All were with Delaney and Bonnie. There group just fell apart after that. Bonnie did play Bonnie the waitress on the Roseanne Show and sometimes sang on that show with David Crosby. I might add at this time that Claudia Linnear who solo's on Let It Be is the girl who Mick Jagger wrote Brown Sugar about. If you listen to the sound of Delaney & Bonnie's albums you will here the Mad Dogs sound. Donna Wiess is a great writer of music and has worked with Rita Coolidge off and on over the years.

Sure this on-tour movie is cliched in parts, none more so than with the post-Woodstock-ian split-screen techniques thrown into every musical sequence, but the whole is elevated by the great music this 30 strong band of gypsies generates.

The story was that Joe, seeking to capitalise on his new-found Stateside success, found himself without a band for a coast to coast tour booked well in advance. Whereupon his US record label introduced him to the Master Of Space And Time, Mr Leon Russell who not only put together this massive band, comprising such later luminaries as Stones saxophonist Bobby Keys and most of Derek's (Eric Clapton) Dominos as well as Leon's own Delta Lady Rita Coolidge on backing vocalists, but also played lead guitar and lead piano, as well as arranging the music.

I love the big sound this band makes, with almost every song given the celebratory, evangelical treatment just bound to get the crowd going. The song selection is excellent, lesser known Cocker gems like "Space Captain" and "Darling Be Home Soon" rubbing shoulders with established classics like "Feelin' Alright", "The Letter" and of course Joe's piece-de-resistance "With A Little Help From My Friends".

One could argue that Cocker was something of an extra in his own movie which is partly due to Russell's charismatic presence, whether on guitar or piano, but also because Joe himself seems like such a self-effacing guy. Even when interviewed on camera, Cocker doesn't really have a lot to say and you can tell he's happiest when letting his frazzled larynx rip on songs whether he's live in concert or having a knees-up on the tour bus.

So, nothing revelatory here either in the music, anything said by the contributors or the presentation of the film itself. Still, it's an entertaing travelogue by a band the size and quality of which hasn't been witnessed too many times since.

Joe Cocker was a spastic, possessed singer who had so much soul. Mad Dogs and Englishmen is a documentary about the singer and his band composed of many rock and roll greats including Leon Russell, Bobby Keys, Claudia Lennear, Rita Collidge, Chris Stanton and Bobby Jones, to name a few. The film is a creation of its time, capturing the hair and the clothing of 1970 when it was filmed in Berlin.

The hard whiskey and cigarette voice lost some pitch over the years, but he continued to tour. This documentary shows Cocker and his best.

The stage is filled with singers and musicians and I wanted so much to be with them then.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen cover soul and R&B classics and some Beatles music. The covers depart from the originals and become unique interpretations of the songs we thought we knew well already.

Cocker's hard-edged voice and his spell-binding movements made him the brightest light of that moment in Rock and Roll. The songs are still among my favorites.

RIP.

"Mad Dogs and Englishmen" is the account of Joe Cocker's 1970 American Tour. There is lots of great music, but the impression the film left me is what joy there is when good music is being made.

It was made in the same vein as "Woodstock" the 1970 Oscar winner for Best Documentary. "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" is even better than "Woodstock". I don't want to sound like a spoiled sport, but the best parts of "Woodstock" were the musical sequences and "MDAE" is loaded with songs, 21 to be exact.

Cocker exudes a kind of kinetic energy rarely seen anymore. His body moves with the music. He isn't just singing; he feels it. And when the band finishes up with an exceptional take, we see the joy they feel. It was a highlight in "Woodstock" and here, with a 2 hour running time, you can't help but feel exhilarated after it ends. I know I did.

Sadly, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" is not as well known as "Woodstock", mostly due to the rights being in limbo for so long. Now, A&M Video preserves the film on tape, with the multi-image widescreen images intact and the result is a unearthed treasure. The album only covers some of the bases. The film covers them all.

**** out of 4 stars