Reginald Dwight, enduring songwriter, musician and legend, has brought inspiration to millions
since the late 60s. Beyond his wild stage look and trademark custom glasses, is a man who continues to move people,
both with his charitable work, but with his body of songs that are unmistakenly Elton John.
Elton's discography is broken into 2 sections - first being his first 16 albums, or, his early classic period. When you click on the
album covers below from this section, you will be taken to pages containing as much artwork as I have available, ticket
stubs, programs, ads, pics and other artifacts from the period.
The second section containing all of the albums since, up to 2002 (many of which still contain classic moments.) When you
click on one of these covers, you will likewise be taken to a wealth of information, pictures and memorabilia.
NOTE: I've included as many of the third-market compilations (Pickwick, K-Tel, etc.) as I could find. These
are recognized with asterisks, and simply show the cover art, songlist and release date. Also, Ive tried to include officially
released UK-only releases.
The Classic Period: 1969 - 1977
From Then Until Now 1978 - 2002
Top
Elton John (the first US release)
by John Tobler
NOTE: The following are the reprinted liner notes that accompanied the 1995 CD re-release. They are followed by comments
by Gus Dudgeon, the producer behind most of Elton's classic albums.
he 'Elton John' album represented the artist's breakthrough into the big time
when it was released in 1970. It was his first LP to reach the British chart, and
perhaps more importantly, his first to be released in the US, where it scored heavily
in the 'Billboard' album chart.
he album (plus several other tracks, including 'Bad Side Of The Moon', 'Rock
And Roll Madonna', 'Grey Seal' and 'Into The Old Man's Shoes') was recorded in
January, 1970, at Trident Studios in London, and marked the first collaboration
between Elton and producer Gus Dudgeon. Elton's previous album, 'Empty Sky',
had been produced by Steve Brown, who had befriended Elton and Bernie Taupin
when they were signed to Dick James Music as songwriters, and had encouraged
them to develop their art naturally and without pressure, rather than justifying the
pittance they were being paid as a retainer by churning out songs to order. Brown
had overseen the recording of'Empty Sky', an artistically respectable if
commercially disappointing debut, which failed to set the charts alight when it was
released by DJM Records (the label affiliated to Dick James Music) in mid-1969.
When Brown first heard 'Your Song', one of the earliest tracks completed by John
& Taupin for a proposed follow-up album, he decided that an experienced
producer should be hired to supervise what he correctly felt would be a very
important track.
udgeon and Brown had never previously spoken, and Dudgeon was not the
first producer Brown approached. He initially asked Beatles producer George
Martin, who would only consider the project if he were also contracted to write
arrangements for the songs, which Brown had decided should benefit from
orchestral backing. However, Brown had already chosen someone for that role, Paul
Buckmaster, who had conceived the memorable arrangement for David Bowie's
'Space Oddity'. When Buckmaster was asked to suggest a suitable producer for
Elton's LP, he nominated Dudgeon, who had not only produced 'Space Oddity',
but had also worked as engineer or producer with notables such as Eric Clapton (in
John Mayail's Biuesbreakers), The Strawbs and The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
ith such a reputation, Dudgeon apparently doubted the wisdom of working with
a virtual unknown, but changed his mind after hearing the demo recordings of 'Your
Song' and 'The King Must Die', and started a relationship which enjoyed
astonishing success during the first half of the 1970s, which in commercial terms
was a purple period for Elton.
he standout track on the LP was 'Your Song', which became Elton's first major
hit single, reaching the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic in early 1971, although
it was not the first single taken from the album. 'Border Song' had been released in
the spring of 1970 by DJM in Britain and by the small Congress label in America.
Congress was a small subsidiary of the giant MCA corporation, which earlier in
1970 had released 'Lady Samantha', Elton's first single to create interest, but
nevertheless failed to reach the chart. According to Philip Norman's book, 'Elton -
The Definitive Biography', MCA were originally more interested in another act
signed to DJM, and supposedly only accepted Elton provided they could also release
records by the other act, which swiftly vanished without trace. MCA boss Russ
Regan realised that the act regarded as a makeweight was in fact quite exceptional
and represented the biggest stroke of luck imaginable, when Elton became a huge
star almost overnight after his first performance in Los Angeles at the famous
'Troubadour' club. Congress swiftly withdrew 'Border Song' and Regan reissued it
shortly afterwards on the far bigger Uni label, another MCA-owned company, when
it became Elton's first chart single, spending over a month in the US Hot 100. Its
flipside, 'Bad Side Of The Moon', was also recorded during the sessions for the
album, from which it was excluded. The gospelly 'Border Song' was a US Top 40
hit for Aretha Franklin at the end of 1970, which must have meant a great deal to
Elton & Bernie, who were supposedly great fans of Aretha, who would later duet
with Elton on a US Top 10 hit, 'Through The Storm', in 1989. 'Border Song has
also been recorded by Jose Feliciano and by Eric Clapton, whose version appears on
the 1991 tribute album celebrating the songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin, 'Two
Rooms'. (see next page for more about "Two Rooms")
he next single released by Elton in the UK was 'Rock And Roll Madonna' /
'Grey Seal', both tracks recorded during the sessions for the album, and included
on this remastered reissue CD. 'Grey Seal' was later re-recorded and included on
the 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' album. Its appearance in 1970 on a 45 did not
result in a hit, and the single was not released in the US. It was only after Elton's
instant breakthrough in America in the summer of 1970 that another single was
released, which was 'Take Me To The Pilot'/'Your Song'. 'Your Song' entered the
'Billboard' Hot 100 in November, 1970, and reached the US Top 10 in a three
month spell in the chart; in early 1971, it was released in Britain, where it also
reached the Top 10. 'Your Song' remains one of Elton's most familiar classics, and
has attracted numerous cover versions, although Elton's has been the only version
to become a US hit. In contrast, it has been a UK hit three times, first for Elton
himself in 1971, in 1977 for 'Philly soul' star Billy Paul - as Elton remarked more
recently: "I still get a kick out of the fact that 'Your Song' was the B-side to 'Me &
Mrs.Jones'" (Paul's million-selling American Number One hit) - and most recently
for Rod Stewart, when it was also included on the 'Two Rooms' tribute album.
Perhaps the greatest accolade 'Your Song' received was supplied by John Lennon,
who after hearing it, called Elton "The first new thing that's happened since we
(The Beatles) happened".
nother familiar song on the 'Elton John' album is 'Take Me To The Pilot',
which Elton performs in the style ofLeon Russell, regarded in the early 1970s as a
hero by discerning music lovers. However, the song is lyrically obtuse, as its creators
admitted in the 'Two Rooms' book which shared its title with the tribute album.
Elton noted: "I don't understand some of (Bernie's) lyrics, especially the early ones;
'Take Me To The Pilot', I've no idea what that's about, nor has he". The lyricist
added, "I used to hear about David Bowie throwing words into a hat, picking them
out and putting them together. The great revolutionary poets did that; I'm sure
Baudelaire and Rimbaud were so stoned out of their minds, they just threw things
together and went 'Wow ! That sounds good'. It's how they sound together, you
don't have to worry about whether it rhymes or whether the meter's great. It's just
how it feels here and now. The perfect example of that is 'Take Me To The Pilot'.
If anybody can tell me what that song's about, it'd be great. But hey, it worked'.
Need You To Turn To', like the rest of the album, was recorded very
quickly, as Elton remembered: "The album was all done in a week, and I played
live with the orchestra. Everything was done live, including playing harpsichord
on 'I Need You To Turn To'". 'First Episode At Hienton' is believed to have been
inspired by Bernie Taupin's adolescent years in Lincolnshire, 'Sixty Years On' is a
heavily orchestrated epic, and the most lyrically straightforward song here
appears to be 'The Greatest Discovery', which celebrates the birth of a younger
brother. The album spent over three months in the UK chart, almost reaching
the Top 10, while it peaked in the US Top 5 during virtually a complete year in
the Top 200, which earned it gold status.
part from Elton and DJ M labelmate Caleb Quaye on guitar (who had also
played on 'Empty Sky'), most of the musicians were session players - bass player
Dave Richmond was an early member of the Manfred Mann group, and Terry
Cox was drummer with the folk/jazz quintet, Pentangle, while the half dozen
backing vocalists included Tony Burrows (the lead voice on 'Love Grows' by the
studio group, Edison Lighthouse), Madeline Bell (later of 'Melting Pot'
hitmakers Blue Mink) and Lesley Duncan.
A Note from producer, Gus Dudgeon
All the tapes used to create these new masters are the original mixes. However, due to the fact that
many of the tapes are at least 25 fears old, they have "softened up" to varying degrees. So, the sound
has been passed through the most up to date digital processing equipment, at 20 Bit Resolution;
namely The Sadie Digital System and Prism Super Noise Shaper. The effect is purely to "enhance"
rather than "colour" the sound.
As the original producer, I would have used this equipment at the time, had it been available for
mastering. The very nature of analogue recordings being transferred to vinyl demanded major
compromises. With the benefits of digital sound these constraints are removed, and the recordings
can be heard much closer to the reproduction we had originally intended.
NOTE: Sadly, Gus Dudgeon, producer of many of Elton's classic works from the beginning, passed away in 2002.
Now, go to the next page to read about what other great musicians had to say about covering Elton John and Bernie Taupin's
songs on the tribute album, Two Rooms ...
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