Search - Elton John :: 1979-87 Greatest Hits

The Best of Elton's Geffen Years

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 06/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After his brilliant run with MCA records, Elton John joined the early roster of mogul David Geffen, who pledged to make his Geffen Records a haven for Artist's Artists. His initial signings were John Lennon, Donna Summer and Elton. His first album for Geffen, "The Fox," had a minor top 40 single on it that isn't even included here, "Nobody Wins." Thus Elton entered a slower period that didn't really reinvigorate until the third Geffen album, "Too Low for Zero" and "I Guess That's Why The Call It The Blues."



What this set does show is that, even in a somewhat shallow period of success, Elton John still could create finally tuned pop gems. From "Mama Can't Buy You Love" and "Little Jeannie" (his last two hits on MCA before the switch), to "Heartache All Over The World," (off the lesser-known "Leather Jackets"), this best-off really does pack on hits. But it also misses a few key tracks ("Who Wears These Shoes," "In Neon" and "Nobody Wins" would have been nice), yet includes one shoulda-been with "Too Low For Zero." You're still getting several top tens ("I Guess That's Why..." and "Sad Songs Say So Much" are now classics) to offer that proof of Elton's staying power.



While this particular disc is out of print, is has been pretty much replaced by "Elton John - Greatest Hits 1976-86" once MCA resigned him. If you're looking for these tunes, you can find most of them there."