Dance with me, America!
Jeff | 10/22/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Joe Cocker's new CD, No Ordinary World, is energentic and full of spirit. This is Cocker's best album. If there are any people who have never heard Joe Cocker's voice, and if you haven't you need to be referred to a doctor immediately, pick up a copy of No Ordinary World."
A Little Of This & A Little Of That
jloewe | Brooklyn, New York USA | 10/07/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Joe Cocker for the "Smooth Jazz" generation. "She Believes In Me" written by Bryan Adams and Eliot Kennedy with backing vocals by Bryan leads the way. I bought this CD for that song alone. That song and "Lie To Me" makes the purchase a worthwhile one. However I would have liked to have seen Ol' Joe cut loose as he does on the latter cut, more often than he does."
Heart Over Mind
Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 01/05/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Even when Joe Cocker is not at his best, he's still a fascinating singer. No Ordinary World is not his greatest work. However, there are a couple of flashes here which Cocker enthusiasts will want to include on your own Joe Cocker compilations. The first cut of Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan" is a jewel. It rocks and drives home Cohen's great melody. I wish I were a studio wizard and could overlay Jennifer Warnes' version with Joe's and get an "Up Where We Belong" replay of the mixing of these two great voices. The other truly brilliant track is "Lie To Me." Cocker's voice rides on a great guitar riff, propeled with a blazing organ and strong electric guitar. If you love Cocker, this cut is up there with his best work. I also really like "My Father's Son." The great "heart over mind" lyric gives a rocking ballad that feels fast and slow at the same time. The problem with much of the rest of the album is the lack of distinctiveness of the material. "Different Roads" sounds like a computer's attempt to write an anthem. "Ain't Gonna Cry Again" has such a forumla construction that it sounds trite. "Soul Rising" has a nice rocking build, but again seems like it was written by Wang. (computers!) "On My Way Home" is a passionate slow ballad with Cocker's empassioned vocals, but the keyboards wash over the mix and drown it. The almost-good material is still interesting. Cocker doesn't add much to Steve Winwood's "While You See A Chance" from Winwood's "Arc of a Diver," but it's a good tune which I'm glad to hear again. "Where Would I Be Now" is a soulful ballad sung with good conviction. The clangy guitars on the title track make it sound like the Byrds if they were raised in Alabama. "Naked Without You" is a big booming ballad with nice piano by Jason Rubello prominently mixed to give the song a classic feel. There are enough good moments here so that a Cocker fan can buy with confidence not to miss the high points, but this is more of an Ordinary World than I'd hoped to hear."