A surprisingly strong album for Elton John to be making in the mid-'90s, most of Made In England has an intensity that the singer hasn't really displayed for nearly a...
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Made in England could as easily be the follow-up to Elton John's self-titled 1970 album as his first recording since the success of his songs for the Lion King soundtrack....
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If timing is indeed everything, John's latest is destined for the record books. Let's face it, you couldn't buy a better turn of events: the tragic demise of a beloved...
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The Big Picture finds Elton John in strong form, turning in a by-now-predictable collection of ballads and pop songs designed to appeal to the adult contemporary audience....
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T'was a time when Elton John was almost the Beatles of his era--a brilliant pop tunesmith who crossed generational barriers and could rock nearly as well as he could produce...
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The Lion King proved to be one of Elton John's most successful projects -- which is quite an achievement for one of the most successful rockers in history. Given its level...
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The last album Elton John and Bernie Taupin would work on full-time together for seven years, this 2-LP set was sometimes aimless, and often lacking in hook-filled tuneage,...
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The immense creativity that had spurred Elton John to realize no less than 11 studio albums in under seven years was beginning to show signs of inevitable fatigue. The same...
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It's hard to imagine the wondrous spectacles that were Elton John shows in the ‘70s. Decked out in the kind of campy dress that would make a drag queen call the fashion...
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Ice On Fire 1/1/1985, Yahoo! Music, Dave DiMartino
Includes guest appearances by George Michael and Millie Jackson. Includes top 10 hit "Nikita." Nonetheless bores the pants off you....
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Elton John's relationship with Geffen Records seems to have been deteriorating by this point, although he kept up his regular output of one album a year...This one contains...
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Not strictly a "greatest hits" collection, Love Songs contains Elton John's most famous ballads, from "Your Song" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" to "Can You Feel the...
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Heard by few Americans until years after its release overseas, this album--which officially preceded Elton John, John's Stateside debut--is tasteful and not exceptionally...
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Although he had made a number of re-recordings of popular songs for a budget record label in the late '60s, Empty Sky was the first true solo album Elton John recorded after...
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Elton's American debut, this is a classy record that's so versatile it often seems to lose focus. Home of "Your Song" and "Take Me To The Pilot," this is the record that--no...
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Empty Sky was followed by Elton John, a more focused and realized record that deservedly became his first hit. John and Bernie Taupin's songwriting had become more immediate...
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A step up from the slightly more overtly commercial Elton John, the U.S. debut album which preceded it, Tumbleweed is beautifully recorded and filled with very fine songs,...
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Instead of repeating the formula that made Elton John a success, John and Bernie Taupin attempted their most ambitious record to date for the follow-up to their...
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MCA repackaged two of Elton John's best albums, Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water, as a single-cassette release in the early '80s. It's not necessarily a bad...
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A very worthy live album--mostly because for many it was the first indication that Elton, whose early records were often overly-laden with strings and more, needed little...
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The great thing about this early live record is its obscurity -- not just that this isn't one of his better-known records, but that the set list is a fanboy's dream, heavy...
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The most artistically vibrant album of Elton John's career, everything is perfect here--the arrangements, the production, the singing, and most of all, the songs themselves....
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Trading the cinematic aspirations of Tumbleweed Connection for a tentative stab at prog rock, Elton John and Bernie Taupin delivered another excellent collection of songs...
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Fine but not exceptional, this set catches Elton during his transition from album-oriented artist to pure singles machine. Included within are "The Bitch Is Back" and "Don't...
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Enjoying the hottest career in the music business at this point, Elton John was also amazingly prolific: Caribou was his eighth LP of new, original songs to be released...
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Honky Chateau 1/1/1972, Yahoo! Music, Dave DiMartino
Not as distinctive as Madman Across The Water, but still fine indeed, Honky Chateau is a little punchier than the records which came before it; check out the rhythms in...
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Considerably lighter than Madman Across the Water, Honky Chateau is a rollicking collection of ballads, rockers, blues, country-rock, and soul songs. On paper, it reads like...
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MCA repackaged two of Elton John's best albums, Honky Chateau and Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, as a single-cassette release in the early '80s. It's not...
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At this stage of his career, Elton was becoming known less for his sound than for his versatility. Thus this set lacks the overall oomph of the records that preceded it--but...
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Elton John became a true superstar with 1972's Honky Chateau. He followed that album with Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, his most direct, pop-oriented album to...
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A highly regarded set that would have definitely been improved had it been a single rather than double album. Just about every pop music sound imaginable gets a workout...
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was where Elton John's personality began to gather more attention than his music, as it topped the American charts for eight straight weeks. In...
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Rarely has a greatest-hits collection been as effective as Elton John's first compilation of Greatest Hits. Released at the end of 1974, after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and...
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Sitting atop the charts in 1975, Elton John and Bernie Taupin recalled their rise to power in Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy, their first explicitly conceptual...
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Less than four months after issuing the landmark and autobiographical Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975), Elton John re-emerged with a new band and a...
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Although initially considered a contractually obligated release, when Here and There (1976) was upgraded in 1995 as part of Elton John's (piano/vocals) "Classic Years"...
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Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 rounds up the handful of singles that weren't included on Elton John's first Greatest Hits collection ("Levon," "Tiny Dancer") and adds the highlights...
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Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 (1979-1987) is a 12-track overview that compiles the bulk of Elton John's biggest hits from the '80s, including such classic tracks as "Little...
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It's not that Elton John was in need of a comeback in 1978, when he released A Single Man, because he was still one of pop's biggest stars. But he certainly had hit a...
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In 1977, Elton John attempted to make a soul album using producer Thom Bell, known for his work with Philadelphia International Records, but it didn't work out. In 1979,...
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Any time life is bringing you down--any time you think things simply couldn't be any worse--any time you wonder what the point of all life is...just put on the horrible...
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This thoroughly dated affair is the result of a chance re-acquaintance between Elton John (vocals) and Pete Bellotte (producer). The artist was not fully satisfied with the...
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Elton John entered the second decade of his pop music career releasing his 21st long-player during the 33rd year of his life, hence the album's title. It also marked the...
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On a purely personal level, the most memorable aspect of this album is that its cover bears a picture of the same model Philco television set I had in my bedroom when I was...
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The early '80s were not a particularly focused time in Elton John's career. The Fox (1981) is a reflection of the tentative regrouping that began on his previous effort, 21...
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Jump Up! (1982) was Elton John's (piano/vocals) first full LP to have been recorded in the 1980s, and is best remembered for including "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" --...
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Elton's finest release on Geffen Records--where he had a mostly bad time, it seems--this was a hopeful glimmer in a career that had seemed to be drifting somewhat. Absolute...
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Elton John began inching back into the mainstream with Jump Up, an uneven but strong record highlighted by "Empty Garden." Its success set the stage for Too Low for Zero, a...
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Building off of the success of his previous long player Too Low For Zero (1983), Elton John (piano/vocals) retained his 'classic quartet' for the follow-up Breaking Hearts...
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A real stiff when it came out--it only climbed to No. 91 on the Billboard chart--this may be the worst album in Elton's catalog; even the horrid Victim Of Love had some...
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Although he had re-formed his 1970s quartet and even reinstated both lyricist Bernie Taupin as well as seminal producer Gus Dudgeon earlier in the decade, Elton John failed...
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Re-signing with MCA, Elton saw his career boom again thanks to the live version of "Candle In The Wind" and this overall refocusing on the many fine songs he's performed in...
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The late '80s were wrought with equal measures of tremendous professional popularity and personal crisis for Elton John. As he would reveal later, this inspired double-LP...
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When Elton John left Geffen for MCA, Greatest Hits, 1976-1986 replaced Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 (1979-1987). The newer collection is a better collection than its predecessor,...
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As Elton John's first album for MCA Records, Reg Strikes Back received a considerable amount of hype upon its release, but it didn't quite live up to his early-'80s records...
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The past Elton John has in mind is the era of soul music of the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, and although all the songs are new, he recreates it well here. The album's most...
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This four-CD set has had a somewhat confused history, mostly owing to licensing changes and the mergers and acquisitions of various record labels. Prepared in the late '80s...
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Elton John once claimed that he could remember The One among his latter-day albums because it was the first he recorded without drugs or alcohol. If true -- and there's no...
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At the time Rare Masters was released in 1992, most of the selections on this 37-track double-disc compilation were indeed rare. They were issued on non-LP singles, B-sides,...
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The title is no joke, but dead-on truth in advertising. Circa 1970, John helped pay the rent and gain studio expertise as a session vocalist for British quickie budget...
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Throughout his songs for The Road to El Dorado, Elton John hinted at his classic sound of the early '70s, but it's still a refreshing surprise to find him largely returning...
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Since this 1987 release is the album that brought "Candle in the Wind" to the charts for the first time -- the song first released on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and the song...
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Elton John once claimed that he could remember The One among his latter-day albums because it was the first he recorded without drugs or alcohol. If true -- and there's no...
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Greatest Hits 1970-2002 is a nearly flawless double-disc set commemorating Elton John's three-decade career. Disc one features what may arguably be John's most essential...
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Greatest Hits 1970-2002 is a nearly flawless double-disc set commemorating Elton John's three-decade career. Disc one features what may arguably be John's most essential...
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While there are a few harder to find tracks for the more earnest enthusiast and collector, the centerpiece of this EP is undoubtedly the "Acoustic Mix" of "Candle in the...
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Elton John returned to the sound and aesthetic of his classic early-'70s work with 2001's Songs From the West Coast, finding critical acclaim, if not much commercial...
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The past Elton John has in mind is the era of soul music of the mid-'60s to the mid-'70s, and although all the songs are new, he re-creates the period well here. The album's...
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