History Film / MadDogsAndEnglishmen

->''"Russell, then a Svengali to several artists, believed that the grind-it-out British belter with the Music/RayCharles obsession could be huge if presented in the right context. So he wrote screaming arrangements of songs Cocker had been singing for years, and positioned the singer at the center of a constantly moving (and frequently gaudy) revue. Bigger isn't usually better in rock. But ''Mad Dogs'' works, in part because the ensemble pushes Cocker in ways few rock singers are ever pushed. He sings Traffic's "Feelin' Alright" as a series of boxing maneuvers, slipping his ad-libs into the (few) open spaces. He feeds off the campy vaudeville backing for Music/TheBeatles' "[[Music/AbbeyRoad She Came In Through the Bathroom Window]]". And though he enjoys the power of Russell's ensemble on the full-throttle rock numbers, Cocker is most persuasive when the heat isn't full force: This steady-rolling version of "Cry Me a River" deserves a spot in the hall of fame, as does the sultry version of Russell's "Delta Lady" that closes the program."''
-->-- '''Tom Moon''', ''1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die''

* CoverAlbum: Most of the songs are covers of then-contemporary performers in both rock (Music/TheRollingStones, Music/TheBeatles, Music/BobDylan) and soul (Music/RayCharles, Music/OtisRedding, Sam & Dave). Cocker was almost exclusively a cover artist, after all, and the band barely had time to rehearse even the well-known cover songs. An original single, "Space Captain", nonetheless emerged from the rehearsal sessions and is one of Cocker's more famous songs.

* {{Improv}}: Cocker treats [[Music/TheRollingStones The Stones']] "Honky Tonk Women" as a platform to invent lyrics nightly.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: A rare live rock example, the "Mad Dogs" band features a mix of star session men like Jim Keltner and Russell with complete amateur backing singers, small children, and a dog.

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Backing vocalist Rita Coolidge became a minor star after her performance of "Superstar", later CoveredUp by Music/TheCarpenters. Russell, Don Preston, and Claudia Lennear all take less-heralded turns at the mic as well.

->''Mr. Cocker's style is post-Music/RayCharles, post-almost anybody I can think of, a gravelly voice that seems to have been pushed beyond its endurance, but that always retains reserve with which to maneuver through Mr. Russell's complex arrangements. Their [[BluesRock rock-blues]] utilizing [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters the large choir]] into which the children and [[{{Mascot}} Canina]] sometimes wander, are immensely elaborate without ever being fancy, principally, I suspect, because Mr. Cocker is not a fancy artist.''
--> '''Vincent Canby''', ''New York Times'' review

->''Russell, then a {{Svengali}} to several artists, believed that the grind-it-out British belter with the Music/RayCharles obsession could be huge if presented in the right context. So he wrote screaming arrangements of songs Cocker had been singing for years, and positioned the singer at the center of a constantly moving (and frequently gaudy) revue. Bigger isn't usually better in rock. But Mad Dogs works, in part because the ensemble pushes Cocker in ways few rock singers are ever pushed. He sings Traffic's "Feelin' Alright" as a series of boxing maneuvers, slipping his ad-libs into the (few) open spaces. He feeds off the campy vaudeville backing for Music/TheBeatles' "[[Music/AbbeyRoad She Came In Through the Bathroom Window]]". And though he enjoys the power of Russell's ensemble on the full-throttle rock numbers, Cocker is most persuasive when the heat isn't full force: This steady-rolling version of "Cry Me a River" deserves a spot in the hall of fame, as does the sultry version of Russell's "Delta Lady" that closes the program.''
--> '''Tom Moon''', ''1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die''

* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: On top of the original album, there's an expanded "deluxe" edition, a "rarities edition" compiling [[CutSong famous songs that didn't make the cut]], and the six-disc BoxedSet from 2006.

Trapped with a surprise tour and no band to back it, Cocker called on Angeleno music mastermind Leon Russell to use his connections to get Cocker a pickup band on short notice. Russell seemingly used every last one of them, assembling a 35-piece behemoth behind the soulman [[TrainingFromHell and rehearsing it day and night]] for the tour which would become the '''''Mad Dogs and Englishmen''''' album and ConcertFilm.

!!!AC:Side One

Trapped with a surprise tour and no band to back it, Cocker called on Angeleno music mastermind Leon Russell to use his connections to get Cocker a pickup band on short notice. Russell seemingly used every last one of them, assembling a 35-piece behemoth behind the soulman [[TrainingFromHell and rehearsing it day and night]] for the tour which would become the '''Mad Dogs And Englishmen''' album and ConcertFilm.

'''Tracklist (original 1970 release)'''

[[AC:Side One]]

[[AC:Side Two]]

[[AC:Side Three]]

[[AC:Side Four]]

->''Mr. Cocker's style is post-Ray Charles, post-almost anybody I can think of, a gravelly voice that seems to have been pushed beyond its endurance, but that always retains reserve with which to maneuver through Mr. Russell's complex arrangements. Their [[BluesRock rock-blues]] utilizing [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters the large choir]] into which the children and [[{{Mascot}} Canina]] sometimes wander, are immensely elaborate without ever being fancy, principally, I suspect, because Mr. Cocker is not a fancy artist.''

->''Russell, then a Svengali to several artists, believed that the grind-it-out British belter with the Ray Charles obsession could be huge if presented in the right context. So he wrote screaming arrangements of songs Cocker had been singing for years, and positioned the singer at the center of a constantly moving (and frequently gaudy) revue. Bigger isn't usually better in rock. But Mad Dogs works, in part because the ensemble pushes Cocker in ways few rock singers are ever pushed. He sings Traffic's "Feelin' Alright" as a series of boxing maneuvers, slipping his ad-libs into the (few) open spaces. He feeds off the campy vaudeville backing for Music/TheBeatles' "[[Music/AbbeyRoad She Came In Through the Bathroom Window]]". And though he enjoys the power of Russell's ensemble on the full-throttle rock numbers, Cocker is most persuasive when the heat isn't full force: This steady-rolling version of "Cry Me a River" deserves a spot in the hall of fame, as does the sultry version of Russell's "Delta Lady" that closes the program.''

Trapped with a surprise tour and no band to back it, Cocker called on Angeleno music mastermind Leon Russell to use his connections to get Cocker a pickup band on short notice. Russell seemingly used every last one of them, assembling a 35-piece behemoth behind the soulman [[TrainingFromHell and rehearsing it day and night]] for the tour which would become the '''Mad Dogs And Englishmen''' album and ConcertFilm.

'''Tracklist'''

* CoverAlbum: Most of the songs are covers of Music/TheRollingStones ("Honky Tonk Women"), Music/LeonardCohen ("Bird On The Wire" from "Songs From A Room"), Arthur Hamilton ("Cry Me A River"), Music/TheBeatles ("She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, from ''Music/AbbeyRoad''), Music/{{Traffic}} ("Feelin' Alright"), Music/LeonRussell ("Superstar"), Music/RayCharles ("I'll Drown In My Own Tears", "Let's Go Get Stoned (originally by Music/TheCoasters), "Sticks and Stones" (originally by Titus Turner)), Music/IsaacHayes ("When Something Is Wrong With My Baby", first recorded by Sam & Dave), Music/OtisRedding ("I've Been Loving You Too Long" from ''Music/OtisBlue''), Music/BobDylan ("Girl From The North Country" from ''Music/TheFreewheelinBobDylan''), The Box Tops ("The Letter"),...Cocker was almost exclusively a cover artist, after all, and the band barely had time to rehearse even the well-known cover songs. An original single, "Space Captain", nonetheless emerged from the rehearsal sessions and is one of Cocker's more famous songs.

* CoverAlbum: Most of the songs are covers of Music/TheRollingStones ("Honky Tonk Women"), Music/LeonardCohen ("Bird On The Wire" from "Songs From A Room"), Arthur Hamilton ("Cry Me A River"), Music/TheBeatles ("She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, from ''Music/AbbeyRoad''), Music/{{Traffic}} ("Feelin' Alright"), Music/LeonRussell ("Superstar"), Music/RayCharles ("I'll Drown In My Own Tears", "Let's Go Get Stoned (originally by Music/TheCoasters), "Sticks and Stones" (originally by Titus Turner)), Music/IsaacHayes ("When Something Is Wrong With My Baby", first recorded by Sam & Dave), Music/OtisRedding ("I've Been Loving You Too Long" from ''Music/OtisBlue''), Music/BobDylan ("Girl From The North Country" from ''Music/TheFreewheelinBobDylan''), Music/JohnLennon ("Give Peace A Chance"), The Box Tops ("The Letter"),...Cocker was almost exclusively a cover artist, after all, and the band barely had time to rehearse even the well-known cover songs. An original single, "Space Captain", nonetheless emerged from the rehearsal sessions and is one of Cocker's more famous songs.

* NonAppearingTitle: The band never does cover Noel Coward's "Mad Dogs And Englishmen", the film's namesake. Rereleases of the album became an odd aversion, featuring Russell's later single "The Ballad Of The Mad Dogs And Englishmen" as a bonus track.

** Creator/{{Gotlib}} spoofed the cover with his character ''Hamster Jovial'', only to change Cocker's BicepPolishingGesture into a typical French ''fuck you'' gesture. [[ https://berichtenuithetverleden.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/gotlib-hamster-jovial-et-ses-louveteaux/]]

** Creator/{{Gotlib}} spoofed the cover with his character ''Hamster Jovial''.

Joe Cocker was one of the breakout stars of Film/{{Woodstock}}, opening the festival's final day with a cover-fueled set in which the [[{{Understatement}} animated]] British soulman introduced the AirGuitar to the world under the influence of any number of chemicals. In an effort to solidify his newfound fame, Cocker began a taxing support tour following the concert and lasting until early 1970. With the tour finally complete Cocker parted ways with his backing band and moved to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles to plan his next move only to learn the very next day that his manager had extended the tour with an eight-week stateside stand and that should he balk, Cocker would be effectively frozen out of returning to the United States from that point on.

* CoverAlbum: Cocker was almost exclusively a cover artist, after all, and the band barely had time to rehearse even the well-known cover songs. An original single, "Space Captain", nonetheless emerged from the rehearsal sessions and is one of Cocker's more famous songs.

* {{Medley}}: The "Blue Medley", combining Ray Charles' "Drown In My Own Tears", Sam & Dave's "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby", and Music/OtisRedding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long".

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Backing vocalist Rita Coolidge became a minor star after her performance of "Superstar", later CoveredUp by Music/TheCarpenters.

* ConcertFilm: One of the most famous examples of the early seventies, ''Mad Dogs And Englishmen'' premiered while flower power was still in, and the non-concert segments certainly show as much.