Superb British Edition of Elton John's Greatest Hits
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 04/02/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits" is a spellbinding definitive collection of Sir Elton John's most popular chart-topping hits from both his hit single recordings and live performances (though not all of the songs in this compilation were Number One hit singles), issued now in celebration of the Rocket Man's 60th birthday. Not surprisingly most of the songs on this CD consist of those from his legendary 1970s hit-making phase of his magnificient career in music which spans now four decades (However, I should note that the version of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down From Me" included in this CD is Elton's live duet with George Michael, which did finally become a Number One hit for him in the United States and the United Kingdom back in 1991 over 16 years since its original debut on the USA Billboard hit charts.). This British edition of "Rocket Man" does a better job than the American edition in taking into account Elton's more recent hits, and includes such great songs as "I'm Still Standing", "I Guess Why They Call It The Blues", and most recently, "I Want Love" from the 2002 album "Songs From The West Coast". It also includes an early Elton John favorite, "Tiny Dancer" from the album "Madman Across the Water" (The song became a popular "hit" after it was featured in the soundtrack of Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical film "Almost Famous", but it has been a crowd-pleasing favorite at Elton's live performances for years.), and the newest single, "Tinderbox", from the recently released album "The Captain and The Kid".
A bonus DVD contains ten videos, most notably five never released live concert performances from his Las Vegas-based "Red Piano" shows ("Bennie & The Jets", "Rocket Man", "Candle In The Wind", "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", "Your Song") and four videos for three of his greatest hits from his post-1976 body of work ("I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues", "I'm Still Standing", "I Want Love") and the forthcoming single "Tinderbox" from the "The Captain and The Kid". I think this special CD/DVD set is worth getting simply for the videos, especially of the live "Red Piano" performances, featuring Sir Elton and his current Elton John Band: musical director and guitarist Davey Johnstone, bassist Bob Birch, keyboardist Guy Babylon, drummer Nigel Olsson and percussionist John Mahon (Both Johnstone and Olsson were members of the original Elton John Band.). And I say this simply because Elton has been blessed in having with his current band, the best group of musicians who've played with him, with the exceptions of course of both percussionist Ray Cooper and the late Dee Murray, the band's original bassist. This special two-disc set will surely please countless fellow Elton John fans and demonstrate why he still remains one of our most important singer-songwriters. If nothing else, this set demonstrates the timeless quality of Elton's most popular hits, which will remain enduring classics of pop and rock music.
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Track Listings (28) - Disc #1