If you are not a hardcore fan of Joe Cocker, it’s easy to think of him as the caricature portrayed by John Belushi on “Saturday Night Live.” This DVD shows that there is a lot more to the man than that. Sure, he is very expressive in his live performance, but not just physically. His voice has a way of exuding emotion and – for lack of a better term – rock and roll. He really is one of the quintessentially singers of rock and roll. This concert film caught him in 1980 – perhaps at the apex of his musical prowess. His band is purely on fire and the selections are great. The film quality and sound are not perhaps up to the standards of today, but they are quite good. This was filmed for German TV and the one thing I found annoying is the little song titles that show up. Still, this is a small problem and this performance is a great one. It would also have been nice to have some bonus features here, but as strong as the main feature is, we can live without that. Hardcore Cocker fans won’t need me to tell them to pick this up. If you are a fan of good rock and roll and aren’t all that familiar with Cocker, I’d highly recommend this, too. The man is a great performer and this is a great performance captured well for posterity.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008  Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.