Joe Cocker is without a doubt, a true musical legend. With over four decades as a major force in rock and roll, the singer with that unmistakable blues/soul voice has earned countless accolades for his artistry—Grammys, Golden Globes, Academy Awards and platinum selling albums worldwide, and shows no signs of slowing down. 429 records, which is a unit of Savoy Label Group, announced today that the iconic singer is gearing up for the release of "Hard Knocks"—his 21st full-length album.
"Hard Knocks" is a collection of 9 all new songs plus a cover version of the Dixie Chicks' "I Hope." Produced by Matt Serletic (Matchbox 20, Carlos Santana), "Hard Knocks" has the timeless 'Cocker' sound fusing rhythm and blues, soul, and pop into a killer mix of unique contemporary style. "Hard Knocks" will be available on 429 Records on November 22nd.
Says Cocker, "I don't really know what you would call this album: 'rock/pop'? It's a little more pop than I've been into for quite a while so it would scare me sometimes. I would do the basic tracks and then Matt would go away and do some of these overdubs and he had all these electronic things on there. It was sometimes like 'Oh, my god!'. But I wanted to work with Matt very much. And I always knew what kind of record we would be making."
The recording sessions took place in Serletic's own Emblem Studios here in Los Angeles involving a host of acclaimed musicians like Ray Parker Jr., Tim Pierce and Joel Shearer on guitar, Josh Freese, Matt Chamberlain and Dorian Crozier on drums, Chris Chaney on bass and Jamie Muhoberac on keyboards. The songs were mixed by Chris Lord-Alge and mastered by Bob Ludwig. Songwriters Kara Dioguardi of recent American Idol Fame and Marc Broussard contributed songs to the collection.
"Hard Knocks" track listing:
- Hard Knocks
- Get On
- Unforgiven
- The Fall
- So It Goes
- Runaway Train
- Stay The Same
- Thankful
- So
- I Hope (Dixie Chick Cover)
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