FOR a career forged from mostly cover versions, Joe Cocker's has been a remarkably successful one.

Three-and-a-half decades after his superb rendition of the Beatles With A Little Help From My Friends, he's still going strong, still touring and gruffer than ever.

This comprehensive collection gathers most of the key moments along the way and goes someway to reconfirming the 'Britain's best white soul singer' sobriquet.

But it also demonstrates that musically, he has remained stationary all these years - though he is quoted as saying he doesn't want to court a new audience by trying to update his sound.

Not everything he has turned his hand to has worked, so although songs like the bluesy Feelin' Alright or the soulful When the Night Comes are good, others like Unchain My Heart and Summer in the City err a little too close to a deeply disturbing 'pub-rock' sound.

But there are 30 tracks here which is enough to tease out a decent selection with some astute programming of the CD player.

JS