Elton John (album)

Elton John
Studio album by Elton John
Released	10 April 1970 (1970-04-10)
Recorded	January 1970; Trident Studios (London, England)
Genre	Soft rock symphonic rock
Length	39:27
Label	DJM (UK) Uni (US)
Producer	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Empty Sky (1969) Elton John (1970) Tumbleweed Connection (1970)
Singles from Elton John
"Border Song" Released: April 1970 "Take Me to the Pilot" Released: 26 October 1970 "Your Song" Released: October 1970

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(B)[2]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[3]

Elton John is the second album by English singer-songwriter Elton John, released in April 1970. However, because it was his first album released in America, many people there assumed it was his first album, as Empty Sky was not released in the US until 1975. Elton John includes his breakthrough hit, "Your Song", and helped to establish his career during what was considered the "singer-songwriter" era of popular music. In the US, it was certified gold in February 1971 by the RIAA. In the same year, it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

In 2003, the album was ranked No. 468 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. This was the first of many Elton John albums produced by Gus Dudgeon. On 27 November 2012, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as an album cited as exhibiting "qualitative or historical significance".^[4]

The song "No Shoe Strings on Louise" was intended (as homage or parody) to sound like a Mick Jagger song.^[5][6]

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Side one

1. "Your Song" – 4:02
2. "I Need You to Turn To" – 2:35
3. "Take Me to the Pilot" – 3:47
4. "No Shoe Strings on Louise" – 3:31
5. "First Episode at Hienton" – 4:48

Side two

1. "Sixty Years On" – 4:35
2. "Border Song" – 3:22
3. "The Greatest Discovery" – 4:12
4. "The Cage" – 3:28
5. "The King Must Die" – 5:23

Bonus tracks (1995 Mercury and 1996 Rocket reissue)

1. "Bad Side of the Moon" – 3:15
2. "Grey Seal" (Original version) – 3:35
3. "Rock and Roll Madonna" – 4:17

Bonus tracks (2008 deluxe edition)

Disc one - original album

Disc two

1. "Your Song" (Piano demo) – 3:35
2. "I Need You to Turn To" (Piano demo) – 2:12
3. "Take Me to the Pilot" (Piano demo) – 2:36
4. "No Shoe Strings on Louise" (Piano demo) – 3:33
5. "Sixty Years On" (Piano demo) – 4:21
6. "The Greatest Discovery" (Piano demo) – 3:58
7. "The Cage" (Piano demo) – 3:21
8. "The King Must Die" (Piano demo) – 5:24
9. "Rock and Roll Madonna" (Piano demo) – 3:11
10. "Thank You Mama" (Piano demo) – 3:20
11. "All the Way Down to El Paso" (Piano demo) – 2:49
12. "I'm Going Home" (Piano demo) – 3:05
13. "Grey Seal" (Piano demo) – 3:19
14. "Rock And Roll Madonna" (Alternate take) – 2:55
15. "Bad Side of the Moon" – 3:13
16. "Grey Seal" (Original version) – 3:36
17. "Rock and Roll Madonna" – 4:17
18. "Border Song" (BBC session) – 3:21
19. "Your Song" (BBC session) – 4:01
20. "Take Me to the Pilot" (BBC session) – 3:33

On the album released in Portugal, a French horn is used in the introduction to "The Greatest Discovery" instead of a cello as is found on all other versions. An extended version of the introduction to "Sixty Years On" is available on the 1990 box set To Be Continued.

The original German release from 1970 (Hansa 80807) opens with the song "Rock and Roll Madonna", and the song "I Need You to Turn To" does not appear on the LP. The rest of the tracks and the running order remain the same as the worldwide release.

The album was remastered as a multichannel Super Audio CD in 2004.

B-sides

Personnel

• Elton John – piano, vocals (all tracks), harpsichord (track 2)
• Frank Clark – acoustic bass (track 10), acoustic guitar (1)
• Colin Green – additional guitars (track 1, 7), Spanish guitar (6)
• Roland Harker – guitar (track 2)
• Clive Hicks – acoustic guitar (track 9), rhythm guitar (4), twelve-string guitar (1), guitars (7, 8, 10)
• Alan Parker – rhythm guitar (track 3)
• Caleb Quaye – lead guitar (tracks 3-5), additional guitars (9)
• Les Hurdle – bass guitar (track 10)
• Dave Richmond – bass guitar (tracks 1, 7, 8)
• Alan Weighall – bass guitar (tracks 3, 4, 9)
• Brian Dee – organ (tracks 6, 7)
• Diana Lewis – Moog synthesizer (tracks 5, 9)
• Paul Buckmaster – cello solo (track 8)
• Skaila Kanga – harp (tracks 2, 8)
• David Katz – violin
• Terry Cox – drums (tracks 8, 10)
• Dennis Lopez – percussion (tracks 3, 4)
• Barry Morgan – drums (tracks 1, 3, 4, 7, 9)
• Tex Navarra – percussion (track 9)
• Madeline Bell – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9)
• Tony Burrows – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9)
• Roger Cook – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9)
• Lesley Duncan – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9)
• Kay Garner – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9)
• Tony Hazzard – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9)
• Barbara Moore – backing vocals, choir leader (track 7)

Production

• Producer: Gus Dudgeon
• Engineer: Robin Geoffrey Cable
• Editing: Gus Skinas
• Remastering: Tony Cousins
• Digital transfers: Ricky Graham
• Surround sound: Greg Penny
• Lyricist: Bernie Taupin
• Arranger: Paul Buckmaster
• Orchestra contractor: David Katz
• Art direction: David Larkham
• Liner notes: Gus Dudgeon, John Tobler

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Charts

References