Organic

Joe Cocker

1996

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About

Joe Cocker's fifteenth studio album, "Organic," was released on October 14, 1996. The album marks a return to Cocker's musical roots, featuring a blend of reimagined covers and fresh interpretations of his own classics. Produced by Don Was, the album includes performances from musicians such as Jim Keltner, Billy Preston, Chris Stainton, Dean Parks, and Randy Newman. The recording and mixing took place at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, California. The album features Cocker's soulful voice, with instrumentation shifting from brass to guitars, adding new dimensions to familiar tracks. It includes covers of songs by Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman and Stevie Wonder, alongside Cocker's own songs such as "You Are So Beautiful" and "Delta Lady". The album was showcased in Europe throughout October 1996, with special performances at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London.

Recording Info

Recorded and mixed at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California. Produced by Don Was.

Track Highlights

Into the Mystic (Van Morrison) — Features acoustic guitar by Dean Parks and dobro by Greg Leisz.
Bye Bye Blackbird — Written by Morton Dixon and Ray Henderson.
Delta Lady (Leon Russell)
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus) — Features a reggae arrangement.
You Are So Beautiful (Billy Preston)
You Can Leave Your Hat On (Randy Newman) — Features guitar in place of the well-known brass instruments.

Personnel

Joe Cocker (Vocals)
Don Was (Producer)
Jim Keltner (Drums, Percussion)
Kenny Aronoff (Drums, Percussion)
Billy Preston (Hammond B3 organ)
Chris Stainton (Wurlitzer electric piano, acoustic piano)
Randy Newman (Acoustic piano)
Dean Parks (Acoustic guitar)
Johnny Lee Schell (Electric guitar)
Tony Joe White (Electric guitar, harmonica)
Greg Leisz (Dobro)
James "Hutch" Hutchinson (Bass)

Significance

The album is considered one of Joe Cocker's most inspired and richest works, showcasing his blues-soul vocal talent. It is an amalgam of old pieces revisited in a new interpretative key, alongside a handful of different new covers. The strength of the album is Cocker's warm, rusty, extremely energetic and powerful voice.

The album features a version of "You Can Leave Your Hat On" where the brass instruments are replaced by guitar notes.