Elton John on vinyl

A good few years back, going back the last dying days of my original laptop I did post something about my collection of Elton John cds and his "To Be Continued..." box set of 1990 of which my copy is Canadian.

During a period in the late 1980's through early 90's much of my original vinyl and tape collection of his got converted into cds some of which are specialty gold re-masters of better than regular cd quality.

Feeling the need as I got back into vinyl for some of this prolific singer/songwriters output in that form, I decided to add a couple of well chosen compilations.

My original copy of this the 1974 Greatest Hits album was the MCA edition that had a different track selection but it was an album much played growing up and to which I have the DCC gold remaster that over twenty years on still stands out.

What's on it ten essential tracks including such vignettes as Crocodile Rock, Candle in the Wind and plaintive Border Song.

I got the original 1974 UK lp which sounds like he's almost in your room singing.

 That compilation was followed up three years later by another that because he had just switch labels required some cross-label licensing that has caused issues with the US cd edition since to the point I remade the selection digitally.

The strength of this compilation was it housed on lp form a number of non album 45's such as Pinball Wizard, Philadelphia Freedom and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and his Rocket Records duet Don't Go Breaking My Heart with Kiki Dee which was a British #1.

I decided to get the UK version as it sounded better and between both volumes of Greatest Hits I was only missing one song, Levon, and that didn't matter so much.

If one was to pick a single album of Elton's that you could say was his greatest achievement musically, then it would be the 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road which breaks very well into four suites of songs.

It was the home of Candle In The Wind, Saturday's Alright For Fighting, Bennie & The Jets and the title track although for me nothing surpasses the opening Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.

My copy is the 1976 Japanese reissue that kept the tri-fold jacket in thick card with inserts and rice paper inners to cuddle the mint super quiet vinyl.

Issued in 1987 only for a brief period on Geffen Records in the States and Canada, this third volume of greatest hits covers the very late 70's to 1987 taking in such hits as I'm Still Standing, I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues  and Wrap Her Up.

The return trip to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Recently a new series of editions of the classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album by Elton John came out in variety of formats.

Many people feel it has the highest proportion of his finest songs on a single album and they include Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, Bennie and The Jets, Candle in the Wind  apart from the title track.

I already own the MFSL gold cd which was the first to put it on a single disc which is widely regarded as the best digital format release of it.

One reason I'm interested in is the extras rather than the remastered original album which include remakes by today's artists like Ed Sheeran and The Band Perry to whom I like but also such extras as demo versions, a 5.1 surround sound mix on dvd and the whole of the Hammersmith Odeon concert  from that year which the BBC broadcast.

This is something I'm looking forward to getting.

Elton John: Rocket Man II

The last time I looked at this topic was December last and since then I have acquired a few more "new to me discs" originally issued in the late 80's, early 90's by specialty label Mobile Fidelity (MFSL).

We'll kick off with 1971's Madman Across The Water recorded at Trident studios, London which I never previously owned on cd, the home of Levon (a track on the MCA version of Greatest Hits Vol:2) and Tiny Dancer both which good examples of the longer, more laid back style he had then.  

It was the first album Elton only played piano on and not another keyboard instruments.

This, very much Elton's first attempt at a Wild West feel concept album recorded at Trident, doesn't possess a single record hit but features such songs as "Talking Old Soldiers" which does get close to capturing the sense of comradeship people who fought in the forces have and the haunting Where To Now St. Peter.  Country Comfort was lifted off as a 45 release but failed to chart.

Issued on October 1970 it's album I've always had a lot of time for and this sound much smoother than my older MCA cd from the late 80's.

This one 1972's Honky Cháteau named after 18th century French chateau it was recorded in , is more well known being the home of Rocket Man and Honky Cat as well as I Think  Going To Kill Myself which I remember him sing at the Rossayna Hall  (sp?) in the then USSR around the late 70's as well as Hercules, the album closer.

This sounds much better than the 80's MCA cd.

Much to my pleasant surprise, actually these gold discs weren't as expensive as I had expected something no doubt to with the state of the economy and some sellers preparedness to price to sell rather than the three figure madness previously seen on Ebay.

Finally back to regular issues that just happen to sound great and this, the 1985 West German DJM cd version of the 1973 album Don't Shoot Me... , home of so many fine songs  such as as Crocodile Rock, Elderberry Wine and Daniel which while not quite making up to the standard of a specialty gold remaster, nevertheless is very close sound much smoother on Daniel than either the MCA U.S. edition and much less processed compared to the 1995 "The Classic years" remaster.

Elton John: Rocket Man

Getting set for Christmas now so here's a small piece of value coming to you shortly, to paraphrase an old Jefferson Airplane song!

Like a good many people, my interest in Elton John came about in the early 1970's where I owned the UK lp versions of both his Greatest Hits albums, borrowing other titles periodically from the library.

In the intervening years I slowly built up a collection of what I consider to be albums from his classic period plus a few from the early 1980's on compact disc being a mixture of early 80's American MCA discs and a few European DJM issues of the same era as the "Classic Sound" titles issued in 1996 that  to me sounded too loud and bright plus the MCA issue of Greatest Hits II with the song, Levon, a fine track included.

Recently I acquired a few specialty releases that sound amazing that I wish to talk about.

This disc issued in 1994 by the now defunct DCC label followed the US MCA edition track order but added Candle In The Wind which featured on the UK version at the end, has a great selection of Elton's earliest songs in possible their best sounding versions. Bennie And The Jets sounds just like you're in a concert.

Volume II was to been issued by DCC but an eleventh hour licensing issue between Dick James Music and MCA  put an end to that after the test discs were made, which was a great shame.

Issued at the beginning of this year by Audio Fidelity, this edition of Rock Of The Westies originally released November 1975 and  the Home of Island Girl, Grow Some Funk Of Your Own and Dan Dare, is the best version on cd of this title with a wide dynamic range.

Strangely enough this disc originally in late 1989 by Mobile Sound Labs Inc of Illinois was the first edition with the whole double album on a single cd.  

In the opinion of many it remains the best sounding version on cd and being the home of Candle In The Wind, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, and Bennie and The Jets plus many other memorable songs. 

My copy is a slightly later US pressed UDII one.

In 1983 this compilation one of three with the title Love Songs  was issued with a cd issued very shortly afterward in those halcyon cd days by Rocket Records in the UK.

As the title suggests this is a collection of love songs drawn from the  Rocket era catalogue so it takes in the albums from 1976's Blue Moves up to 1982's Jump Up and is a very good summary of this era although it misses of  Part Time Love originally on the 1978 A Single Man album for we get most of the 45's and choice album cuts. 

Although this is an early regular cd, it seems some effort was taken to find good sounding analogue tapes leaving it with a lush presence in the midband, great for making the most of Elton's vocals.

I've transferred these discs to my iTunes library for portable listening.