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ELTON JOHN Rocket Man - Number Ones Mercury (2007)
Elton gets environmentally friendly? Well, the recycling sticker on this CD probably has more to do with the musical content than saving the world.
Released to coincide with Elton's 60th birthday it is an unashamed cash-in, the release date missing the potentially more lucrative mother's day market.
What we get here are 12 'Number Ones' and 5 'other favourites' cherry picked from an illustrious career.
Any compilation will always be selective, although focusing on Number Ones is going to narrow down the field. To complicate matters we're reviewing the US version which differs from the UK release by featuring Don't Go Breaking My Heart, Sacrfice, Island Girl and Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds.
In these days of record industry turmoil there is really no excuse for releasing yet another greatest hits compilation and no value is added for the true fan, not even decent liner notes. There is, though, a special edition with DVD featuring live footage from Elton John's Red Piano Las Vegas show as well as five promo videos.
Track-wise it emphasises classic 1970-1976 period, including four tracks from 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and two from 'Don't Shoot Me...'. The most recent hit on the US version is John's theme for the Disney cartoon 'The Lion King'(1994).
Elton John's creditable recent renaissance (the albums since 2001's 'Songs From The West Coast') is of course not touched on but, hey, 60th birthdays are for reflection and consolidation rather than innovation. So this somewhat predictable collection may suit the occasion.
***
Review by David Randall
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