''No Ordinary World'' is the seventeenth studio album by

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

, released on 8 October 1999 in Europe and on 22 August 2000 in USA. The US edition of the album features two bonus tracks and has different cover artwork. Notable songs on the album include a cover of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

's "First We Take Manhattan" and "She Believes in Me" co-written by

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

, who had also provided backing vocals for the song.

Track listing

First We Take Manhattan "First We Take Manhattan" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. It was originally recorded by American singer Jennifer Warnes on her 1986 Cohen tribute album '' Famous Blue Raincoat'', which consisted entirely of songs wr ...

" – 3:44 (

) #"Different Roads" – 4:58 (Stephen Allen Davis,

Steve DuBerry Steve DuBerry is a British Grammy Award nominated songwriter and record producer, co-writer of Tina Turner's "I Don't Wanna Fight" (along with Lulu and her brother Billy Lawrie). DuBerry has also written and produced songs for Tylah Yaweh, Blue ...

) #"My Father's Son" – 4:29 (

Graham Lyle Graham Hamilton Lyle (born 11 March 1944, in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Between 1970 and 1997, he co-wrote 18 British Top 40 hits, 9 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries, 4 US Country No ...

Conner Reeves Conner Reeves (born 8 April 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 1997 album ''Earthbound'' which was released on Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildstar label. Reeves scored five consecutive Top 40 singles i ...

) #"

While You See a Chance "While You See a Chance" is a song performed by Steve Winwood in 1980, written by Winwood and Will Jennings. It was released on his album '' Arc of a Diver'' and peaked at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in April 1981 and number 68 on the ' ...

" – 3:51 (

Will Jennings Wilbur Herschel Jennings (June 27, 1944 – September 6, 2024) was an American lyricist. He was known for writing the songs " Up Where We Belong", " Higher Love", " Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He was inducted into the Songwriter ...

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

) #"She Believes in Me" – 4:44 (

Eliot Kennedy Eliot Kennedy (born 29 March 1969) is an English songwriter and record producer based in Sheffield. He has worked with artists such as Céline Dion, Rebbie Jackson, Billie Piper, The Spice Girls, Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Donny Osmond, Br ...

) #"No Ordinary World" – 3:52 (Lars Anderson, Stephen Allen Davis) #"Where Would I Be Now" – 5:27 ( Michael McDonald,

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...

) #" Ain't Gonna Cry Again" – 4:06 ( Peter Cox,

Peter-John Vettese Peter-John Vettese (born 15 August 1956), also known as Peter Vettese, is a Scottish keyboardist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Vettese was the keyboardist for progressive rock band Jethro Tull for most of the 1980s. Early life Pet ...

) #"Soul Rising" – 3:57 (Peter Cox,

Graham Gouldman Graham Keith Gouldman (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the co-lead singer and bassist of the art rock band 10cc. He has been the band's only constant member since its formation in 1972. Before 10c ...

, Peter-John Vettese) #"

Naked Without You Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

" – 4:31 (

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. (born March 16, 1954) is an American songwriter and record producer. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists,Andrew Roachford Andrew Roachford (born 22 January 1965) is a British singer-songwriter and the main force behind the band Roachford, who scored their first success in 1989 with the hits " Cuddly Toy" and "Family Man". He has also had a successful solo career. ...

Billy Steinberg William Endfield Steinberg (born February 26, 1950) is an American songwriter. He achieved his greatest success in the 1980s with songwriting partner Tom Kelly (musician), Tom Kelly; together they wrote or co-wrote the No. 1 hits "Like a Virgin ...

) #"Love to Lean On" – 4:17 (Steve Diamond,

Wayne Kirkpatrick Wayne Kirkpatrick (born c. 1961) is an American songwriter and musician born in Greenville, MS, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from Baton Rouge Magnet High School in 1979. His younger brother is American screenwriter and d ...

) #"On My Way Home" – 4:13 (

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a retired French singer-songwriter and record producer whose work remains hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017, he has been the highest-grossing ...

, Michael Jones) #"Lie to Me" – 4:01 (J. McCabe,

David Z David Z may refer to: * David Z (producer) David Rivkin (born 1953), professionally known as David Z, is an American music producer, engineer, and songwriter from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is best known for his long-standing work with Prince an ...

) #"Love Made a Promise" – 5:03 (

Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...

, Mark Nevin) ''Tracks 13 & 14 available only on US edition of the album. In Europe both songs were only released as B-sides to different singles.''

Personnel

* Joe Cocker – lead vocals *

Spike Edney Philip "Spike" Edney (born 11 December 1951) is an English musician who has performed with a number of bands since the 1970s, most notably with Queen (band), Queen in their live concerts since 1984. Career Queen Edney's association with Quee ...

– synthesizers (1, 10) * Chris Elliot – acoustic piano (1, 2),

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

(2),

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

(3),

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

(3) * John Savannah –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

(1–3, 7, 10), electric piano (2), acoustic piano (6) *

Jason Rebello Jason Matthew Rebello (born 29 March 1969) is a British pianist, songwriter, and record producer. Career Rebello was born in Carshalton, Surrey, England. His father's family is from India. Rebello was raised a Catholic in Wandsworth, London. H ...

– acoustic piano (3, 7, 10), clavinet (3), electric piano (7) *

– keyboards (4, 8, 9), acoustic piano (4, 8, 9), Hammond organ (4, 8, 9),

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

(4, 9), programming (4, 8, 9) * Mark Evans – additional programming (4) *

Peter Gordeno Peter Gordeno (20 June 1939 – 18 October 2008) was a British dancer, recording artist, cabaret singer, choreographer, and occasional actor. Biography Born as Peter Godenho in Rangoon, Burma, to an Italian American father and Scottish/ Bu ...

– keyboards (5, 11) * C. J. Vanston – keyboards (5, 11), Rhodes piano (5), synth strings (5, 7), synth percussion (5), synth vibes (10), clavinet (11), Hammond organ (11) * David Clayton – synthesizers (6) *

– keyboards (12), acoustic guitar (12), backing vocals (12) *

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1958 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and th ...

– electric guitar (1, 3, 10) * Steve McEwan – electric guitar (1, 3, 6, 7), acoustic guitar (2, 7) *

Steve Power Steve Power (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer best known for his work with Robbie Williams. He has produced and mixed for a wide variety of artists over the years, including Blur, Busted, Andrea Bocelli, Feeder, Joe Cocker,Pe ...

– electric guitar (1) * Melvin Duffy –

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

(1, 6, 7) * Billy Lang – electric guitar (2), acoustic guitar (6) * Adam Seymour – electric guitar (2, 3, 10), acoustic guitar (10) *

Robbie McIntosh Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is best known as a session guitarist and member of the Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney, joining his band ...

– guitar (4, 8, 9), electric guitar (6) * Michael Thompson – guitar (5, 11) * Patrice Tison – guitar (12) * Dave Catlin-Birch – bass (1, 2, 7) *

Neil Stubenhaus Neil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist. Career He started his musical training playing drums and switched to bass guitar at the age of 12. In one of his early bands, The Neighbourhood in 1969, he played with future Kiss guitarist Vinnie V ...

– bass (1–3, 5, 10, 11) * Neil Harland – bass (4, 9) * Mark Smith – bass (6) * Guy Delacroix – bass (12) *

Jeremy Stacey Jeremy Stacey (born 27 September 1963) is a British drummer and keyboard player. His early works included the 1990s band The Lemon Trees (with twin brother Paul Stacey on guitars, Guy Chambers and others) and Denzil (band), Denzil. He has also ...

– drums (1–4, 6–10) * John Robinson – drums (5, 11) * Christopher Deschamps – drums (12) * Andy Duncan – percussion (1, 2, 7, 10), drum programming (6) * Chris White – tenor saxophone (3), baritone saxophone (3) * Neil Sidwell – trombone (3) *

Steve Sidwell Steven James Sidwell (born 14 December 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Sidwell was a product of the Arsenal academy, and after winning two FA Youth Cups, he had constructive loan spells at Brentfo ...

– trumpet (3) * Chris Cameron – string arrangements (2, 6, 10) * Richard Niles – string arrangements (4, 9) *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, ...

– string conductor (2, 6, 10) * Mary Carewe – backing vocals (1–3, 6, 7, 10) * Helen Hampton – backing vocals (1–3, 6, 7, 10) *

Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). Ea ...

– backing vocals (1–3, 6, 7, 10) *

– backing vocals (5) * Natalie Jackson – backing vocals (5, 11) * Mortonette Jenkins – backing vocals (5, 11) * Marlena Jeter – backing vocals (5, 11) * Tommy Blaize – backing vocals (8, 9) *

Lance Ellington Lance Ellington (born 22 June 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. Ellington, the only son of the band leader Ray Ellington, specialises in swing and big ballads. He has worked with many artists including Sting, George Michael, ...

– backing vocals (8, 9) * Keith Murrell – backing vocals (8, 9) * Michael Jones – backing vocals (12)

Production

* Joe Cocker – executive producer * Roger Davies – executive producer * Steve Power – producer (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14), mixing (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10) * Peter-John Vettese – producer (4, 8, 9), mixing (4, 8, 9) * Pete Smith – producer (5, 11), mixing (5, 11) * Jean-Jacques Goldman – producer (12) * Matt Tait – engineer (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10) * Matt Lawrence – assistant engineer (1–4, 6, 7, 10) * Andy Haller – overdub engineer (1, 2, 3, 10), engineer (5, 11) * Andy Hasegawa – assistant overdub engineer (1, 2, 3, 10), assistant engineer (5, 11) * James Brumby – Pro Tools engineer (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10) * Richard Flack – Pro Tools engineer (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10) * Matt White – mix assistant (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10) * Mark Evans – engineer (4, 8, 9) * Mike Bigwood – string recording (4, 9) * Chris Potter – vocal recording for Bryan Adams (5) * Mike Beckett – vocal recording assistant (5) * Andy Scott – engineer (12) * Antoine Gaillet – assistant engineer (12) * Norman Moore – art direction, design * Greg Gorman – photography ;Studios * Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 13 & 14 recorded at Metropolis Studio (London, UK). Tracks 1, 2, 3 & 10 overdubbed at

Record Plant The Record Plant was a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and last operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it produced highly influential albums, including the New York ...

(Los Angeles, CA, USA). Mixed at Battery Studios (London, UK). * Tracks 4, 8 & 9 recorded at Area21, Brittania Row Studios and Olympic Studio 1 (London, UK). Mixed at Brittania Row Studios. * Tracks 5 & 11 recorded at

(Los Angeles, CA, USA). Mixed at Nomis Studios (London, UK). * Track 12 recorded at Twin Studio (Paris, France).

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1999 albums Joe Cocker albums Parlophone albums Eagle Records albums Albums produced by Peter-John Vettese