- Format: CD
- Label: Akarma
- Genre: Rock / Pop
As you will have realised, the CD you are holding features Elton John singing 16 cover versions of chart hits from 1969 and 1970. It was the era of the budget-priced chart-buster album: when hit singles would be re-recorded by session musicians to match the originals as closely as possible ("can you tell the difference between these and the originals"!) Top Of The Pops is the series which you're most likely to remember, but many other companies ran similar series throughout the '60s and '70s, selling surprisingly large numbers of copies in Woolworths, high street supermarkets and other outlets. You don't need the originals of these tracks to enjoy the disc in full, although it makes it kind of fun if you do remember them (can YOU tell the difference?!). But away from the originals, Cotton Fields stands up in its own right, both musically and as a pretty definitive roundup of an interesting footnote in the history of Britain's biggest superstar. I don't suppose he'll lose any sleep over it. He certainly has nothing to be ashamed of. Track listing - 1. Natural Sinner Fairweather-Low) 2.United We Stand (Hiller/Simons) 3. Spirit in the Sky (Greenbaum) 4. Travelin' Band (Fogerty) 5. I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top (Fletcher/Flett) 6. Good Morning Freedom (Cook/Greenaway/Hammond/Hazelwood) 7. Up Around the Bend (Fogerty) 8. She Sold Me Magic (Christie/Herbert) 9. Come and Get It (McCartney) 10. Love of the Common People (Hurley/Wilkins) 11. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours (Garrett/Hardaway/Wonder/Wright) 12. It's All in the Game (Dawes/Sigman) 13. Yellow River (Christie) 14. My Baby Loves Lovin' Cook / Greenaway) 15. Cotton Fields (Leadbelly) 16. Lady d'Arbanville (Stevens)
