Centerfield 25th Anniversary Edition (Geffen, 2010)

Nothing says summertime in America like an afternoon or evening spent at a baseball park, and no trip to a professional diamond is complete without a rousing rendition of the John Fogerty classic single, Centerfield. Virtually every baseball stadium across the country plays this clap-inducing ode to the National Pastime at least once throughout the course of a game, so it is only fitting that Geffen Records chose to reissue Fogerty's solo album that bears the same name as its hit single in the middle of the summer.

To mark the 25th anniversary of "Centerfield," the album's nine original tracks have been digitally re-mastered and two bonus cuts were added. The package is rounded out with expanded liner notes that detail the history of the album and the legal fights Fogerty faced after its release.

One listen to this set reveals that the southern rock-inspired and twang-filled tracks Fogerty created back in 1985 maintain their relevancy today. The three singles: the aforementioned title track; The Old Man Down The Road and Rock And Roll Girls are the driving forces behind this rocking album and all hold up as well as anything Fogerty produced with his classic band Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The bonus cuts, the Cajun-influenced party song My Toot Toot and the modern gospel of I Confess are both cover tunes culled from mid 1980's recording sessions that are getting their first official release. Although they are welcome additions to the Fogerty catalog, they stray from the content and quality of the album's original nine tracks - the real stars of this reissue.