{"id":4963,"date":"2012-02-17T21:26:12","date_gmt":"2012-02-18T04:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=4963"},"modified":"2012-02-17T21:26:12","modified_gmt":"2012-02-18T04:26:12","slug":"joe-cocker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2012\/02\/joe-cocker\/","title":{"rendered":"JOE COCKER"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-4965\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/JOE-COCKER-M-Review-Dec2011.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/JOE-COCKER-M-Review-Dec2011.jpg 400w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/JOE-COCKER-M-Review-Dec2011-300x187.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/h1>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h1><strong>J<\/strong><strong>OE COCKER<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong><em>Hard Knocks<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[429 Records]<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Joe Cocker\u2019s latest marks a 180-degree turn from his rough-and-ready previous record, 2007\u2019s <em>Hymn for My Soul<\/em>. Produced by Matt Serletic, best known for his work with Matchbox Twenty, <em>Hard Knocks<\/em> is spit-shined and glossy to a fault. Comprised mostly of pop-flavored R&amp;B, the album emits an \u201980s vibe, and often brings to mind Robert Palmer\u2019s broad-strokes discs of that era. Typical is \u201cStay the Same,\u201d a fist-in-the-air anthem propelled by thunderous percussion and skittering electro-groove embellishments, and \u201cGet On,\u201d a horn-driven slice of hard funk that percolates in near-disco fashion. Ballads include \u201cUnforgiven\u201d and \u201cSo,\u201d both of which groan beneath the weight of Serletic\u2019s lush orchestration and overwrought arrangements. The album has fine moments\u2014a soulful cover of the Dixie Chicks\u2019 \u201cI Hope\u201d unfolds with Al Green-like casual splendor\u2014and Cocker\u2019s voice remains as formidable as ever. If anything, <em>Hard Knocks<\/em> demonstrates why Cocker, at 66, hardly needs an elaborate musical framework in which to shine. \u2013Russell Hall<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JOE COCKER Hard Knocks [429 Records] Joe Cocker\u2019s latest marks a 180-degree turn from his rough-and-ready previous record, 2007\u2019s Hymn for My Soul. Produced by Matt Serletic, best known for his work with Matchbox Twenty, Hard Knocks is spit-shined and glossy to a fault. Comprised mostly of pop-flavored R&amp;B, the album emits an \u201980s vibe, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1081,196,3032,3113,3112],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4963"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4966,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4963\/revisions\/4966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}