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Amazing Mellow Elton John

Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 10/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you enjoy Elton John and like his mellow music best, you've found your CD. Most of the hits on this solidly pop CD were top 40 hits, many of them top 10 and a few were #1's. Because Elton John has had mellow songs from the beginning of his career, this music covers the time frame from the beginning of his popularity in the US (1969) to 1996. The music is all excellent, even the two sometimes-reviled hits from "The Lion King".



Two of the songs on this CD are new, "You Can Make History (Young Again)" and "No Valentines". Both are good songs that show how easily Elton John can churn out listenable music.



I strongly believe that Elton John has the ability to write elevator music for hours a day if that was his interest. Fortunately the orchestration and skill that he puts into his mellow music frequently elevates it to the level of excellent, and thus suitable to be top 40 music. Elton has more talent on his off days than most current musicians on their best days, and this CD shows much of that talent.



Five of the 15 songs are from the "classic years": "Daniel", "Someone Saved My Life Tonight", "Your Song", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", and "Candle in the Wind". Of these, two are remakes: "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a live duet with George Michael that was a hit for both in the early 90s, and a live version of "Candle in the Wind" recorded at a concert in Australia in the late 80s. Both are very good versions of the originals, which says a lot because I normally am not a fan of live music recorded for CD.



The eight songs remaining after the two new songs cover the period from 1976 to 1995. Of these, five ("The One", "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", "Believe", "Blessed", and "Circle of Life") were released from 1992 to 1995. The remaining three ("Sacrifice", "Blue Eyes" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word") were released during the years that Elton John battled drug and alcohol addictions, and was not at his talented peak. Achieving so many creative peaks in the 90s after the relative drought from 1976 to 1991 once again shows the amount of incredible talent this one man has.



Nearly all of these songs are pop classics to some degree. If you are an Elton John fan and have a lot of his music, you may pass this CD by. However, I have many of his CDs and I purchased it because of the collection of mellow music which often fits my mood. If you are new to Elton John and like quiet, mellow music, then you should absolutely buy this CD; it is a great introduction to Elton John. After you have this CD, then go back and look for his music from the early to mid-70s, and most of his CDs released since 1992. You will be amazed and pleased at the ability of a man whose career spanned 36 years at the time this was written.



Note that there is a remastered version of this CD available, so while this one may be a better deal because they are likely used, the remastered versions are new.



"

Finally, a single-disc career retrospective

Johnny Boy | Hockessin, DE | 03/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am partial to Elton John's early years. I am going back to 'Madman Across The Water,' 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,' 'Tumbleweed Connection,' etc. But I bought this set one day, and I sure am happy I did!



The remastering is great. In translation, the sound quality is excellent. And, you get 15 great songs from the rock legend. But, I'm not crazy about several songs on the record ('We Could Make History' and 'Circle Of Life' to name a few), which is why I give this four stars.



If you're a huge Elton John fan and you've loved him all of his career and you had to buy just one CD, I'd buy this one. And, you get some great live tracks. 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' is a great live duet with pop icon George Michael, and 'Candle In The Wind,' taken from the 'Live In Australia' record, is amazing as well.



This is highly recommended for the casual or new Elton John fan. ENJOY!!!"