Amazing though it seems - given his legendarily copious appetite for booze and drugs - Joe Cocker never cut a bad album. He's only cut a handful of great ones (and that was long, long ago), but his records - due, perhaps, to his beautiful, war-torn voice and his excellent taste in songwriters - always provide a few sparkling moments. This pattern lends itself well to hits collections, and Polygram issued a great one a while back. The Anthology (1999) stretches from Cocker's first single in 1965 (a version of the Beatles' "I'll Cry Instead") to his reemergence in the 80's as a sober, elder statesman of blue-eyed soul. I really can't recommend The Anthology (a 2-CD set) too highly, but more casual fans will appreciate Hip-O Records' Ultimate Collection (2004), a single-disc version of roughly the same material (and a vast improvement on his old 1976 Greatest Hits album).

If, however, you love Joe Cocker as much as I do, you'll appreciate the generous boxed set, Long Voyage Home: The Silver Anniversary Collection (1995). Expanded to four discs, Long Voyage Home captures Cocker's work for a variety of labels (A&M, Island, Capitol), extending into the early 1990's and collecting a number of rare and unreleased tracks. We witness Cocker's mesmerizing capacity as a blues shouter ("High Time We Went"); his fearless willingness to reinterpret daunting material ("With A Little Help From My Friends"); and numerous examples of his extraordinary respect for the art of songwriting. Cocker himself, you see, is an infrequent songwriter, but he unerringly picks the best songs from the best writers - Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Webb, Jackson Browne, and Randy Newman, to name just a few.

As mentioned, Joe Cocker cut several great albums at the start of his career. His first two studio albums, With A Little Help From My Friends (1969) and Joe Cocker! (1969), were packed with head-turning performances, both from Cocker and his crack band (led by longtime collaborator Chris Stainton). Cocker liberally mixed contemporary songs with golden oldies and pop standards; he thrived on the variety, giving himself over completely to each song. Together, these two records forged an unforgettable debut. For an encore, Cocker released Mad Dogs & Englishmen (1970), a 2-LP document of his infamously chaotic tour (and film) of the same name. Cocker is joined by players like Leon Russell and Jimmy Page, but his histrionic vocalizing always commanded center stage. After Mad Dogs, though, Cocker's work grew more mellow, less consistent. His voice, however, never lost its potency.

In several ways, Joe Cocker is a singularly lucky man. First of all, he's lucky to be alive. His creative output slowed to a trickle during his "lost decade" in the 70's. "You Are So Beautiful," one of his biggest hits of the era, clocked in at a mere 2:45 because Joe was, quite literally, too drunk to finish the song (listen to Billy Preston's original version if you don't believe me). Secondly (and more to the point), he is, against all odds, a wonderful singer. His voice is cracked and his stage presence is spastic, at best. And, let's face it, he's not much to look at.... But, Joe Cocker can put a song across more convincingly - with more resolute, passionate commitment - than anyone this side of Ray Charles. I call that lucky, indeed.