My favorite CD

I'm in for another slow week, while transitioning to my new agency. So I have lots of time on my hands this week.

This morning I've been working on some Wikipedia edits and listening to some of my CDs in Napster. One of those CDs is probably my all-time favorite, "Two Rooms," which is a tribute album for Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It has some great covers by artists like Sting, Eric Clapton, and Joe Cocker. It's not a perfect CD by any means; The Beach Boys' version of "Crocodile Rock" is disappointing, even though the song was originally an homage to them, and I hate George Michael's version of "Tonight" enough that I usually skip over it. (Then again, I don't care much for anything he does.)

My sense of aptness and irony is satisfied with this album: The Who does a version of "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting." They say in the liner notes (which alone are worth the price of the CD) that they're happy that they could "take back" one of their songs. So true!

This CD also has the best cover of any song by any artist, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," by Oleta Adams. Now, this also happens to be my favorite Elton John song, but this version is one of the few covers that's even better than the original. Her voice better fits the gospel quality of the song as written, and it's a superior arrangement.