Original released on Double LP A&M SP 6002
(US, September 1970)
In the pantheon of classic live albums, Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" is near the top, alongside "Woodstock" and "The Last Waltz" in defining the spirit of a generation. Now, the album – originally issued in 1970 – is heard with previously unreleased tracks and studio cuts. The 35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition reveals in full for the first time, the repertoire of the craziest, loudest, longest rock 'n' roll circus to have ever hit America, featuring guests such as Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, Claudia Lennear, and Don Preston. Along with already-legendary performances of "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window," "The Letter," "Delta Lady," "Bird On A Wire," "Cry Me A River," "Feelin' Alright," "Let's Go Get Stoned" and "Space Captain" are seven previously unreleased live performances (whose inclusion now reflects the actual sequence of the show's set list) and four rare studio recordings.
When the original "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" album was released in September 1970, it reached #2 in the U.S. album charts, selling over a million copies, besides riding high in Britain, Europe and Australia. A&M Records loved it and not just because it had been a hit. As co-founder Jerry Moss would later say «It's an extraordinary record – one of the greatest records we've ever put out, and we've had some nice live albums.» Over thirty-five years on it remains an extraordinary record. Listening to this CD brings back a lot of memories. "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" was just about the most elaborate album that A&M Records had ever released, a double LP in a three-panel, fold-out, gatefold sleeve, with almost 80 minutes of music inside and a ton of photos, graphics, and annotation wrapping around it. A live recording done in tandem with a killer documentary film of the same U.S. tour, it was recorded at the Fillmore East, where the movie was a cross-country affair, and the two were, thus, completely separate entities – also, as people couldn't "buy" the film in those days, the double LP has lingered longer in the memory, by virtue of its being on shelves, and also being taken off those shelves to be played. Unlike a lot of other "coffee table"-type rock releases of the era, such as Woodstock and The Concert for Bangladesh, people actually listened to "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" – most of its content was exciting, and its sound, a veritable definition of big-band rock with three dozen players working behind the singer, was unique. The CD offers a seriously good sound, whether it's just Joe Cocker and a pianist and organist in the opening of "Bird on a Wire," or the entire band going full-tilt on "Cry Me a River"; the remastering was set at a high volume level and there was a decent amount of care taken to get the detail right, so you can appreciate the presence of the multiple drummers, and the legion of guitarists and singers, plus the multiple keyboard players. The lead guitar and solo piano on "Feelin' Alright," for example, come through, but so do the 34 other players and singers behind the lead.
This record was also just as much a showcase for Leon Russell as it was for Joe Cocker, which A&M probably didn't mind a bit, as Russell was selling millions of records at the time. As is now known, and it's recounted in the new notes, the tour from which this album was drawn all but wiped out Joe Cocker – on a psychic level – because the music was presented on such a vast scale (and there is a moment in the movie where he mentions breaking up his former backing group, the Grease Band, with a hint of regret in his voice) and his own contribution was so muted by Russell's work as arranger and bandleader. He may well have been the "victim" of a "hijacking" of sorts, but the musical results, apart from the dubious "Give Peace a Chance," are difficult to argue about upon hearing this record anew, decades after the fact – it's almost all bracing and beautiful. [In 2005 "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" was reissued in a two-CD deluxe edition with eight previously unreleased live performances inserted throughout the discs and four rare studio recordings tacked onto the end. The new live performances are longer and looser and Russell plays an even bigger role. They're excellent, as are the stereo studio mixes of "The Letter" and "Space Captain," available for the first time here.]
Personnel: Joe Cocker (vocals); Leon Russell (guitar, piano); Don Preston (guitar); Bobby Keys (tenor saxophone); Jim Price (trumpet); Chris Stainton (piano, organ); Carl Radle (bass instrument); Chuck Blackwell (drums, percussion); Jim Gordon , Jim Keltner (drums); Bobby Torres (congas); Sanford Konikoff (percussion); Rita Coolidge (background vocals) and others…
