This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.
Mad Dogs & Englishmen is a live album by Joe Cocker, released in 1970. The album's title is drawn from the 1931 Noël Coward song of the same name and Leon Russell's "Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen". Only four songs of the 16 on the original album were drawn from his first two studio albums. Besides the contributions of bandmate and musical director Leon Russell, it draws equally from rock (the Rolling Stones, Traffic, Bob Dylan, the Beatles) and soul (Ray Charles, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, The Box Tops). Accompanying Cocker is a choir, a three-piece horn section and several drummers. The single "The Letter"/"Space Captain", recorded during rehearsals, was released to coincide with the tour. The album yielded the single "Cry Me a River"/"Give Peace a Chance." "Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen"/"Let It Be" was a single from the movie soundtrack that featured Leon Russell and Claudia Lennear. The Leon Russell song was also released on his album Leon Russell and the Shelter People. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Bruce Eder praised the album for the unique sound created by the unconventionally large rock band. He noted that Cocker's creative presence on the album was drowned out by that of Russell, but held that this was not a bad thing. Kevin Perry, writing Cocker's obituary in the NME, described the album as a classic and one of two things (the other his cover of "With a Little Help from My Friends") that first brought Cocker his fame.
I think it's good for its time but a bit weak for the passage of time due to the very marked rhythms of that time, which makes it very niche if you're looking for that in particular. 2.5 stars
It's Joe Cocker doing his thing for like an hour. It's not bad, but it's not really that exciting. 3/5.
Oh, I was so glad to see this one. I was kicking myself a little for not submitting it. Truly amazing this didn't make the original list. Besides being one of the all time best live rock albums, this is just such an engaging, satisfying listen. What a great, collaborative vibe from a group of artists who are clearly having the time of their lives playing music they love. If you have a friend who hates listening to live albums, give them this one. The songs here are soulful, expressive, and packed with earnest emotion you just don't hear much in music anymore. It's a testament to Joe Cocker's charisma as a performer that he breathes such life into familiar songs and truly makes them his own. No other artist has that kind of skill, and Cocker does it with ease. Cocker is supported by a top notch band, including a powerful horn section and the brilliant Leon Russell on piano. Even the backing vocalists match Cocker's energy and serve it back twofold. What a delight, every note of it. Fave Songs: Cry Me a River, The Letter, Bird on the Wire, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Delta Lady, Feelin' Alright, Let's Go Get Stoned, Superstar, Space Captain
I’ve only ever known Joe cocker as the guy that spazzed out at Woodstock but god damn this was a great live album. Really passionate soulful blues rock and as a sucker for blues rock I ate it up.
Joe Cocker and Leon Russell were two of my dad’s favorite artists… so anything involving them has the inside track on my rating scale. I also had the pleasure of seeing Joe Cocker perform live when he opened for Tina Turner 24 years ago. Incredible even all those years later. I may not have selected a live concert album if I was to suggest an album for this list, but it was a real pleasure to listen to and I’m very happy someone else did! Having a little Rita Coolidge was also very very welcome. Just wish I was able to listen to this with my dad.
Good stuff, though I would have loved to see "With a Little Help from My Friends" here instead. 3 4
Kind of surprised this album wasn't on the original list. Iconic. 4 stars.
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Honky tonk woman, Cry me a river, Superstar, Give peace a chance, Space Captain, The letter, Delta lady
Cool live album
I enjoyed this far more than I expected!
I was going to dismiss this immediately based on length but I like Joe Cocker. We ran through this during evening playtime with my son and it ruled. Plenty of great covers and his solo work in his rock & soul style.
Rock, soul music, blues. Directo. Me ha gustado. Un 4.
Cocker has some crazy, funky soul. I am interested to see someone who made most of his rock career built in performing covers.
A good live set of some classic songs. What's to hate?
Wasn’t really sure what was happening half the time on this one, but the energy was fun and Cocker brought out enough guests to keep things interesting. I hadn’t listened to any Cocker beforehand and was understandably a little lost, but it’s clear he’s an adept entertainer and I enjoyed the energy of this one. May return to this one after hitting some of his other discography, as I’m sure I would appreciate it more if I knew the hits.
Certainly conveys the sense of a fun concert. It's old-school, blues-heavy rock and roll and no complaints about that really, though none of the many covers are destined to be my favorite versions.
A live album of mainly covers. That’s an interesting choice. I feel if I saw this live I would love this album. The songs he covers are solid and he does a really fine job doing it. It’s just hard loving a live album of mainly covers. 6.2/10
Extremely competent soulful classic rock live. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: The Letter Date listened: 24/02/25
Not a fan of live albums, but we needed some Joe cocker on the original list.
This is a live album with cover versions of already famous songs. Most of these covers do not have added value. Joe Cocker has a great voice. I do not like the way Claudia Lennear sings (on Let It Be) and the album sounds very dated.
Bad
I’m not a fan of a live album at the best of times, but I’m sure a massive fan of Joe Cocker would love this album.