Search - Joe Cocker :: Luxury You Can Afford

Obscure, but fantastic

Kenneth Heard | Jonesboro, Ark | 12/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought the vinyl album of Luxury for $2 in a Paragould, Ark., flea market in 1988 and nearly played the grooves off it on the turntable. I just purchased the CD and play it constantly. It's a lesser known Joe album, but it is ever as good as anything else he does. (Joe could sing the headlines from daily newspapers and it would be classic).



There is a great mix of Joe's talent on this album. The third track, Boogie Baby, in infectous. It's followed with Whiter Shade of Pale, the Procol Harum classic. Like all else, Joe covers this better, I think, than the original artist ( I know, blaspheme against Harum). I told him this once when I met him in Memphis and he got embarrassed. He's a very humble, likeable guy! The ninth track, Lady Put the Lights Out, is a pesonal favorite of mine. The neat thing is that I loved the song when I first heard it. Nearly 20 years later, despite a lot of changes in my musical tastes, I still am moved by the beauty of the tune.



Even the track Heard It Through The Grapevine, a song I am not particularly fond of, is done well by Joe.



This album feaures a good range of his talent. From the moving Lady and Wasted Years to the funky Fun Time to the rocking What You Did To Me Last Night, Joe covers it all. I'd buy the greatest hits albums first.. Gold is a good one, but once you get hooked on Joe, Luxury You Can Afford is a must."