Elton John

Great tracks well worth the money

Another remaster and another addition to Universal's very successful "Deluxe Edition" series, some of which have been excellent value. We have already seen "Captain Fantastic" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" given the deluxe treatment. According to the expanded essay by John Tobler contained within the booklet of this double cd reissue of one of Sir Elton's career defining early 70's albums for DJM records, it has been released (along with Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition) to commemerate 40 years of recording. And what a wealth of material it contains. It's not so much how good the album sounds, it's all the extra material contained on the second disc, most of which is previously unreleased, that make these new deluxe editions a must have for any fan of Mr.John.It's not the first remaster of course. Almost all his classic 70's back catalogue was first given a clean up in 1995 by the late Gus Dudgeon, Elton's longtime producer and collaborator. The remainder of the 70's albums and most of the 80's and 90's were finished by 2003. And for those of us who were quick enough (and have the relevant hardware) to snap them up, six of his classic 70's albums were reissued in Hybrid SACD 5.1 by Universal America's excellent "Chronicles" series a few years back. If you have an SACD player, they are pretty nice sounding surround remixes (track down the deluxe edition of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road:Remastered SACD/+DVD" and you'll understand what I'm talking about).So onto the 2008 clean up. The albums themselves sound like they were recorded yesterday, very nice indeed. Universal, along with Sony and EMI use single bit technology DSD or direct steam digital that Sony & Philips created for archiving all their aging analogue tape back catalogue. So any remasters they have released since 2001 wil sound as close to the original master as possible. The bonus tracks that were on the 1995 remasters are included on the second disc along with almost all of the album in demo form or alternate versions and some previously unreleased live radio performances. Worth the price of admission for the second disc alone. I hope that all his classic albums get the same treatment as each one passes the big 40 anniversary and we don't have to wait "Sixty Years On".

The trouble with Amazon reviews is that often there's no distinction between the bog-standard version or the Deluxe version of a particular CD release. Here, I'm writing about the Deluxe version that has been kicking around for some time now, but one well worth getting if you're an Elton fan or even if you just like quality music. Elton's second album showcases his music from an early stage of his recording career - it might be slightly solemn in places, but is chock full of those trademark Elton melodies that became 'ear worms' for a generation. This is Elton and Bernie honing their craft, full of hints of how they would later develop.Of course, the opening track is 'Your Song', and it's easy to forget after years of being overplayed what an exquisite song it is - and why John Lennon spotted Elton as being a talent to keep an eye on. Here, on the Deluxe version of this album, it really breathes and shines anew. The rest of the album has many highlights, and the intimate setting created by the remastering of the original tapes is magical. A second disc is brimming with alternative takes, demos and BBC live versions of songs, but the real meat of this set shows a master craftsman starting to spread his wings before the world went mad a few short years later. A beautifully produced set.

It's a good album but all the extras are a bit superfluous

One of Elton John's best albums and some extra live recordings, great value.

Disc 1 is a superbly re-mastered version of the original album while disc 2 contains demo versions of the album tracks plus a few BBC sessions dating from around the time the album was released. While demo versions can sometimes compare favourably with album tracks, this is not the case here as the demos on disc 2 are not really up to that standard. The BBC sessions however are great and well worth having. This has never been my favourite Elton John album as it has a tendency to over-produced slushy sentimentality but I think the more stripped-down and rockier content of the second disc helps to redress the balance. On my copy, disc 1 has been labelled as disc 2 and vice versa. How stupid is that?

Speaking as a non Elton John nut! i.e. I've not bought into everything he's done over the years. But I've always,since the 70's, had a soft spot for this album. And I'd just like to put on record,what a stunning job has been done on the remaster here - absolutely superb! One of the best technical jobs ever, whilst retaining the original 'soul' of the work. 5 stars - all the way! Check this one out!

Elton's second studio album from the classic era of the singer songwriter is simply a masterpiece and this remastered release impresses in every way. The instrumentation is clear and distinct and the whole project is beautifully packaged.