Have a Little Faith
John Hiatt's "Have a Little Faith in Me" is a terrific R&B; ballad, but the author just doesn't have the pipes to do it justice. Joe Cocker has pipes to spare, and the British veteran makes the Hiatt song the centerpiece of this album. Chris Stainton, the singer's old pal from the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" days, bangs out the hypnotic gospel piano chords, and Cocker builds the romantic hymn from a weary, whispery pleading to raspy, desperate wailing in a tour de force performance. In an era of singer-songwriters who are too often one or the other but not both,Have a Little Faithis a welcome testament to the place of the interpretive singer.--Geoffrey Himes