Sheffield Steel  by Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker returns in 1982 after a four-year absence. His return is marked by his first work for Island Records with the album called Sheffield Steel. This is an album whose musical style is adapted to the pop music style of the early '80s, meaning dance rhythm and keyboards. In other words, soft rock prevails with a coating of blues rock.

Sheffield Steel consists of ten songs, ten interpretations by Joe Cocker with his characteristic voice. Among these songs, we find compositions by Bob Dylan (Seven Days), which was the most well-known hit of the album, Randy Newman (Marie), Bill Withers (Ruby Lee), Steve Winwood (Talking Back To The Night), and many others. The album is produced by Chris Blackwell and Sheffield Steel was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Jamaica.

Joe Cocker's twelfth album does not seem to be a successful release, with the album reaching No. 105 on the Billboard. The impressive thing is that in France, 100,000 copies of the album were sold.