Joe Cocker - Mad Dogs & Englishmen - Space Captain

[OobyScoobyDoomsday]

Aside from being my favourite album of all time, Mad Dogs & Englishmen legitimately depresses me sometimes because there's absolutely nothing any band could ever do to surpass it - the crazy tour, the songs, the band, the happy vibes, the unrehearsed chaos of 20+ people on stage at once... this is as good as music is ever gonna get, and it's all downhill from here!

[MrGutentag69]

Jim Gordon is the man. To me this is the high point of rock and roll. I'm 19 and I too appoligize for my generations weak and stupid music

[tonycapt1]

Cocker power!!!!!!!!!ROCK N SOUL

[willwelsh816]

ugh jim gordon was so awesome, sucks what happened later in life though



[DaedricLord666]

Im 14 and I'm sooo sorry what my generation did to music... Joe cocker is king

[calbeatnik]

I saw this tour when it came to SF and they played Winterland was an incredible show.

[RyeBai]

Looked like a crack addict at first but when he sang... Blew you away.

[KateMcIlwain]

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH. Real music and talent. Whoo, Aaahhh. xoxo

[70banksia]

Just amazing - glad to be born in 48 so could experience all this great stuff. Reckon am a better person for it!

[bringback10klf]

1:10 that is totally leon singin YEP!

[alanbstard4]

there's lovely little Pam Polland at 1.08

[ronarmjr]

I actually thought it was Ray Charles with a cold when I first heard it. Please forgive My ignorance I was born in the late 60's and didnt really know of Joe Cocker til the 80's He seems afflicted Whats wrong with him?

[satchmola]

@ronarmjr he's got too much soul

[jackhammer111]

"psychedelic love band"? You don't know your ass from a whole in the ground. There was nothing psychedelic about them. The drug that almost killed Joe Cock was alcohol. Joe Cocker was consciously trying to mimic the voice of Ray Charles. You evidently think funny hats is psychedelia and they're all on acid. lol. Squares and geeks trying to label music from the golden age of rock and roll crack me up. Like it HAS to have a labeled slot to stick it in when the point was the absolute opposite.

[writejs1]

Leon is the greatest! The Space Choir is the best possible backup for Joe Cocker. The Black Crowes do a cover and use the ooh/aah chorus, but not nearly as well as this gang.

[drekobrbec]

Is that on piano Chris Stainton?

[cornfender]

@drekobrbec no that is Leon Russell. but Chris plays piano on a couple of songs on this movie.

[drekobrbec]

@cornfender Thanks!

[tofubob10102]

So Stoned.

[jungleroomdotcom]

Claudia and lennear and rita coolidge together--two of the most beautiful

[bjpc1359]

1 person is lil wayne

[hoz49]

I had forgotten about this song until I saw Tedeschi and Trucks version at Crossroads 2010. Then I remembered where I'd heard it first back in the day in Mad Dogs and Englishmen. Such a classic and brings back fond memories of California in the early 70's.

[cece33372]

grande!!!!

[debiedog1]

one of the best song on MDAE!!! joe still rosks!!

[stalkingwolf1954]

@hey judecreek, hows it goin ? it just seems like joe spent many years recouping from his burn out w/ none of these folks to help him cept JIM PRICE the horn player JOE NEVER says anything but good things bout Leon, he said '' its all apart of the music bizz

[judecreek2]

@stalkingwolf1954 That's true. It seems like everyone went their separate ways after the tour. It's a shame, because there was so much talent in that band, starting with Joe.

[stalkingwolf1954]

@hey judecreek, hows it goin ? it just seems like joe spent many years recouping from his burn out w/ none of these folks to help him cept JIM PRICE the horn player

[stalkingwolf1954]

riding on a shooting star ,WAS LEON

[judecreek2]

@stalkingwolf1954 No doubt, Joe was the STAR! But the star is only as good as his supporting players. Leon was at the top of Joe's support team.

[stalkingwolf1954]

@filmfuck, always remember , COCKER was the star , not leon, EGO russell , u fucks can give him credit, like cocker does but joes done over 50 ml record sales compared to leons 16 ml sales

[jaimedolcesinnersole]

bEAUtifUL!

[forumghost1]

Joe was wanting to get out of his record deal. They pointed out to,him he owed them another record before he could go. He thought he had already left, he was screwed. Enter Leon Russell. And the rest...

[stalkingwolf1954]

this tour was the coolest thing a teenager in miami could hope to eperience in 1970 ,like whoopi goldberg said , this the greatest live album ever recorded

[MrAlphafox]

There is only one way to be great and that's to give it all you got all the time. They did that on The Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour and it is now a thing of legend.

[judecreek2]

@MrAlphafox Truer words have never been spoken. Very nicely said!

[stalkingwolf1954]

Rita Coolidge said in the cocker documentary, that leon and others had giant egos and a lot of power plays were going on while Joe Cocker was quiet and gentle and had no ego at all, he just kept to himself, tried to be the peacemaker, that says a lot about joe

[LeonardARobert]

ooooooohhhhh, aaaaaagghhhh...... Joe, you were on fire on the Mad Dogs tour.

[kidn]

I so wish I could have been there....

[blockhead93]

Now the Elton John has paid homage to Leon and brought him back into mainstream (almost) would it be asking too much for Leon and Joe to "Get back on the road again, with Mad Dogs & Englishmen"?...... that would a dream. many of the origianl parcipitants are still around....They're all around except Carl Radle, Denny Cordell. Jim Gordon although alive is out of commission.

[giftsdirector]

Look at the beautiful hands on the piano: that's my favourite player -and many other favourite... started so many; inspired many others. We love you Leon (in case you are wondering).

[ysidrorodriguez]

genial interpretacion

[tomthefunky]

Tall blonde guy on sax is the legendary Jim Horn. Top LA session man in the sixties. He's the guy that played the flute in Goin' Up The Country by Canned Heat and the flute in Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys. Played on tons of hits.

[judecreek2]

@tomthefunky He and his Hollywood Horns also played at the legendary Concert for Bangladesh with George Harrison in 1971 and about 15 years later for George's Traveling Wilbury's. An amazingly talented man!

[karmjm]

Great video ... great song! What a cast of characters in this! Brings back the memories of life in those times ...

[AndranikAzizbekyan]

I wonder who is THE ONE,who pressed dislike !!??

[prophetdude2]

@AndranikAzizbekyan Justin Bieber

(sorry everybody)

[Weasler455]

@AndranikAzizbekyan You can't expect everyone to agree with your tastes in music, or anything else for that matter. BTW, what is the recurrent theme through this song - "Learning to live together"? Uh, huh.

[bernadettestar]

Love the album

[cuneo1950]

saw these guys at the upstate campus at new paltz. also that week-end: jefferson airplane and the youngbloods [jesse colin young].

mescaline and cheap red wine. the joys of being 19!!!

[PastaBender]

What a great video ... great song to start with but then we have:

at 2:10 or so (left frame) ... it's the writer of the song, Mathew Moore, and he's just singin' along ...

then at like 3:34 it's Claudia Lenear ... ooo, that would be 'Brown Sugar' ...

Oh, and next to Claudia is Rita Coolidge ... can't get any better than this ...

Good times ... Good Video!

[judecreek2]

@PastaBender Claudia Linnear also sang backup for Leon Russell's 1972 European tour where she met and had a romance with David Bowie. She was the inspiration for his love song "Lady of the Grinning Soul" as well as being a partial inspiration for "Brown Sugar".

[swill5191]

@PastaBender and to Moore's left is Alan Spenner who played bass for Cocker's Grease band, who most famously played woodstock with Joe!

[lsjelectronics]

@PastaBender , if you get chance check out susan tedeschi and derek trucks band covering this at crossroads 2010, with Chris stanton on piano, who was also on the original album. Good to know some people are keeping it alive

[judecreek2]

@lsjelectronics I followed your advice and I was totally knocked out! I have a whole new batch of favorites. Even though your response wasn't to me, I thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

[filmlawyer]

Although Herbie's version is interesting I greatly prefer Leon's. It's a bluesy song and Leon captures this marvelously. As always, his arrangement is brilliant.

[judecreek2]

I love the look on Leon's face at around 2:15-2:20. "I'm so damn good, I even impress myself!"

[dhdonjr]

Check out the new cover version of this on Herbie Hancock's recently released Imagine Project - Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks.

[debiedog1]

I think I saw someone who is not stoned!!!!

[laaxe]

The album version of Leon's solo was better defined, Was the one I learned at age 15 in '71. Ten years earlier, Leon was playing demo sessions for Eddie Cochran's girlfriend, & kick-ass songwriter in her own right, Sharon Sheeley, collaborator of mine in 1980. Where does the time go!

[extended12]

From the truly legendary Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour...Joe Cocker with the great Leon Russell on piano...both men at their peak with Leon's fantastic band...

A great version of Space Captain...

[roberthenrybell]

Not to mention Rita Coolidge and a host of musical stars

[PastaBender]

I love this song ... but, one of the neatest things about this video is at like 2:11 ... there he is, in the middle of the ooo/ahs, the author ... Matthew Moore ... just cool ...

[murphstrings]

at least in the other songs here, Bonnie Bramlett, of Delaney and Bonnie, is definately there. blonde with glasses. leon is stoned immaculate, and the great bobby keys on sax. fantastic.

[colscript]

@murphstrings.........blonde with glasses is the beautiful sexy Donna Washburn; I know 'cause I was there

[murphstrings]

THANKS! it sure looked like bonnie. fabulous, either way.

[PastaBender]

Does anyone know all the folks in the Space Choir ... There are three girls in the middle and I only have two other names? From left to right: Pamela Polland, Donna Washburn, Matthew Moore, Bobby Jones, ?, ?, Daniel Moore, ?, Claudia Lennear, Rita Coolidge, Don Preston ... the other names I have are Nicole Barclay and Donna Weiss who, I assume, are two of the question marks ... any help?

[PastaBender]

So, if you care ... the first ? is unknown, the second is Nicoloe Barclay and the third also unknown ... unknown is in that there were always a few folks that just showed up and sang ...

[woodster426]

@PastaBender

the choir is listed as Don Preston/Rita Coolidge/Claudia Lennear/Daniel Moore/Donna Weiss/Pamela Polland/Matthew Moore/Donna Washburn/Nicole Barclay/Bobby Jones

[romeshines]

FANTASTIC