Ordinary Joe

Art is often informed by the life experiences of the artist, and what happens to them can impact their work in any number of ways. In November 2018, the singer and songwriter Joe Henry was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and as he wrestled with the prospect of mortality and the physically and emotionally taxing process of treatment, he practiced his own form of self-care – he wrote songs, a bunch of them, and then set about recording them at the home studio of a friend and collaborator, recording engineer S. Husky Höskulds. The product of these sessions, 2019's The Gospel According to Water, in many respects sounds like an ordinary Joe Henry album, with his rich voice and smartly crafted lyrics front and center, but the feel is decidedly different.

For most intents and purposes, No Ordinary World is an ordinary latter-day Joe Cocker album, filled with slick but impassioned ballads, moderately paced rockers, and smooth adult contemporary pop songs. The thing is, this is just a cut above average, thanks to uniformly fine performances from Cocker and a strong set of songs. Yes, at 14 songs, there are inevitably a couple of slow patches, but there are not only good covers here ("First We Take Manhattan," "While You See a Chance") but some good professionally crafted tunes like "Different Roads," the title track, and the Michael McDonald/Tony Joe White composition, "Where Would I Be Now." No Ordinary World may not erase memories of the fiery early Cocker albums, nor is it quite as memorable as the best of his latter-day work, but for longtime fans, it's a nice, satisfying listen.

The Album Recordings 1984-2007 is an impressive Joe Cocker 14CD box. The new collection comprises all of Cocker’s studio albums released from 1984 – 2007 [along with 'Live'] and a newly compiled bonus CD of ‘Related Recordings’ that includes rarities, additional content from European deluxe discs, US Album versions and songs found on tribute albums for the likes of Elton John and Bruce Springsteen. The Album Recordings 1984-2007 is packaged as a clamshell box containing a 16-page booklet. All CDs come housed in replica cardboard sleeves. The albums included in this box are: 1. Civilised Man (1984) 2. Cocker (1986) 3. Unchain My Heart (1987) 4. One Night Of Sin (1989) 5. Joe Cocker (Live) (1990) 6. Night Calls (1992) 7. Have A Little Faith (1994) 8. Organic (1996) 9. Across From Midnight (1997) 10. No Ordinary World (1999) 11. Respect Yourself (2002) 12. Heart & Soul (2004) 13. Hymn For My Soul (2007) 14. Related Recordings (Exclusive Bonus Disc).

Ordinary Average Guy is the ninth solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Walsh. The album was released in mid 1991. It was Walsh's first album of entirely new music since Got Any Gum? in 1987, and his first solo album to be issued internationally by Epic following a four-year alliance with Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Canada. The album features Ringo Starr, Survivor's lead vocalist Jimi Jamison, and the drummer Joe Vitale from Walsh's former band Barnstorm. Vitale also sings the lead vocals on the final track of the album, "School Days".