"Unchain My Heart" - Joe Cocker

Those timings can't be right. The first one makes for a very awkward edit, and the "Oh..."'s don't match in the second edit.

Anyone else possibly have this?

I defer to my 2015 post. Unless there was another pressing
in 1987, I don't know.

Kudos to Gary, who sent a copy. There's actually a third edit (the piano before the bass line is snipped).

Rockdent was correct about where the second edit (the 3:15-3:32 one) was, but I'm not sure it can be extracted cleanly from the
LP (if feels like there's either an extra piano note or overdub that obscures Cocker's singing of "un" at (3:15)).

Having trouble pinpointing the third edit--I know it's there but I'm not sophisticated enough either.

So, indeed it's an edit, but in my view not an easy edit to make. But YMMV.

Based on several postings, it looks to me like the 4:11 edit was used on the music video at the time. That doesn't solve the problem of finding the edit on CD, but perhaps could provide a guide for editing the LP version.

The UK was allegedly even shorter, listed on Discogs as only running 3:24. I have no vinyl to confirm it actually ran this, though.

At the time of posting, a good sounding copy of the video was located on YouTube here.

I'm now on the hunt for this edit on CD, or someone's recreation. Otherwise, I'll try it myself this next week.

Searching the web, I found on Steve Hoffman's forum that
user CBpat mentions the differences between the LP
version released in 1987 and the 1990 version.
Apparently, two years after the original 1987 release, an
additional guitar (Phil Grande) was added to the single
for inclusion on the second European edition of Night
Calls, as well as the album The Best of Joe Cocker
(1992).

- Unchain My Heart - Absolutely great take of Joe’s 1987
hit cover of the famous Ray Charles song. This version
features much more guitar, with strong lead and rhythm
parts from Grande and Mack. The backup vocalists are
excellent here, Levine recreates his piano intro
perfectly from the original— everything from the bass
guitar riff to the horn chats are perfectly in place
here, including an excellent sax solo (either by Deric
Dyer or Andrew Love). This is a very high energy
performance, and Joe responds in kind with a very strong
lead vocal. This outdoes the studio take for me. The
extra guitars here (and I assume in all live performances
during this period) were probably the inspiration to take
the 1987 recording of this two years later and add extra
guitar to it for inclusion on the second European edition
of Night Calls, as well as on the The Best of Joe Cocker
album (1992). Another of the best tracks on this album,
easily.



- Unchain My Heart (90’s version) - There is not much to
say here— this is the already released version of Unchain
My Heart which had appeared on the album of the same name
and as a single in 1987, only here we get overdubbed
guitar from Phil Grande. Grande’s playing is, true to
form, excellent, and for the most part the lines don’t
show— anyone used to the original recording may disagree
however. Actually, to be honest, there are moments when I
find the guitar audibly interferes a bit with Joe’s
vocal. Ultimately therefore, I still prefer the sparer
original version of this. Besides being added to the
second European edition of Night Calls, this track also
opens the 1992 The Best of Joe Cocker compilation album.

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/joe-cocker-album-
by-album-via-song.939199/page-78


I hope this information is helpful.
greetings

Edited by kaqueno