Rock and roll music
| Elton John | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 10 April 1970 | |||
| Recorded | January 1970 | |||
| Studio | Trident, London | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Length | 39:27 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Gus Dudgeon | |||
| Elton John chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Elton John | ||||
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Elton John
Elton John
Label: UniDJM · Studios: Trident, London · Productor: Gus Dudgeon
1970 studio album by Elton John
Elton John is the second[a] studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John. It was released on 10 April 1970 through DJM Records. Including John`s breakthrough single "Your Song", the album helped establish his career during the rise of the singer-songwriter era of popular music.
Leer másReview
1970 studio album by Elton John
Elton John is the second[a] studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John. It was released on 10 April 1970 through DJM Records. Including John`s breakthrough single "Your Song", the album helped establish his career during the rise of the singer-songwriter era of popular music.
Leer másIn the US, Elton John 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 at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards. In 2003, the album was ranked number 468 on Rolling Stone magazine`s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. On 27 November 2012, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as an album cited as exhibiting "qualitative or historical significance".[2]
Production
This was the first of a string of John albums produced by Gus Dudgeon. As Dudgeon recalled in a Mix magazine interview, the album was not actually intended to launch John as an artist, but rather as a collection of polished demos for other artists to consider recording his and co-writer Bernie Taupin`s songs.[3] Two songs from the album did find their way into the repertoire of other artists in 1970: "Your Song" was recorded by Three Dog Night as an album track on their LP It Ain`t Easy, while Aretha Franklin released a cover of "Border Song" as a single that reached number 37 in the US pop charts and number 5 on the R&B chart, later included on her 1972 album Young, Gifted and Black.
The song "No Shoe Strings on Louise" was intended (as homage or parody) to sound like a Rolling Stones song.[4][5]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [6] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
John Mendelsohn in a contemporary (1970) review for Rolling Stone felt that the album was over-produced and over-orchestrated, comparing it unfavourably with the less mannered and orchestrated Empty Sky; though he felt that John had "so immense a talent" that "he`ll delight you senseless despite it all".[8] Robert Christgau in his weekly "Consumer Guide" column for The Village Voice also felt the album was overdone ("overweening", "histrionic overload", "semi-classical ponderousness"), but that it had "a surprising complement of memorable tracks", including "Your Song" which, despite its "affected offhandedness", he considered "an instant standard".[9]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Your Song" | 4:04 |
| 2. | "I Need You to Turn To" | 2:32 |
| 3. | "Take Me to the Pilot" | 3:46 |
| 4. | "No Shoe Strings on Louise" | 3:31 |
| 5. | "First Episode at Hienton" | 4:48 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Sixty Years On" | 4:35 |
| 7. | "Border Song" | 3:22 |
| 8. | "The Greatest Discovery" | 4:12 |
| 9. | "The Cage" | 3:28 |
| 10. | "The King Must Die" | 5:21 |
| Total length: | 39:27 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Bad Side of the Moon" | 3:15 |
| 12. | "Grey Seal" | 3:35 |
| 13. | "Rock and Roll Madonna" | 4:18 |
| Total length: | 50:35 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Your Song" (Demo version) | 3:33 |
| 2. | "I Need You to Turn To" (Piano demo) | 2:10 |
| 3. | "Take Me to the Pilot" (Piano demo) | 2:34 |
| 4. | "No Shoe Strings on Louise" (Piano demo) | 3:31 |
| 5. | "Sixty Years On" (Piano demo) | 4:20 |
| 6. | "The Greatest Discovery" (Piano demo) | 3:56 |
| 7. | "The Cage" (Demo version) | 3:20 |
| 8. | "The King Must Die" (Piano demo) | 5:22 |
| 9. | "Rock and Roll Madonna" (Piano demo) | 3:10 |
| 10. | "Thank You Mama" (Piano demo) | 3:19 |
| 11. | "All the Way Down to El Paso" (Piano demo) | 2:48 |
| 12. | "I`m Going Home" (Piano demo) | 3:03 |
| 13. | "Grey Seal" (Piano demo) | 3:18 |
| 14. | "Rock and Roll Madonna" (Incomplete band demo) | 2:53 |
| 15. | "Bad Side of the Moon" | 3:11 |
| 16. | "Grey Seal" (1970 version) | 3:34 |
| 17. | "Rock and Roll Madonna" | 4:16 |
| 18. | "Border Song" (BBC session) | 3:19 |
| 19. | "Your Song" (BBC session) | 3:59 |
| 20. | "Take Me to the Pilot" (BBC session) | 3:33 |
| Total length: | 65:49 | |
B-sides
| Song | Format |
|---|---|
| "Bad Side of the Moon" | "Border Song" 7" (US) |
| "Into the Old Man`s Shoes" | "Your Song" 7" (UK) |
Live recordings
John performed many of these songs live,[10] and included six of these ten songs on his 1987 album Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Personnel
Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.
- Elton John – piano, vocals (all tracks), harpsichord (2)
- Diana Lewis – Moog synthesizer (5, 9)
- Brian Dee – organ (6, 7)
- Frank Clark – acoustic guitar (1), double bass (10)
- Colin Green – additional guitar (1, 7), Spanish guitar (6)
- Clive Hicks – twelve-string guitar (1), rhythm guitar (4), guitar (7, 8, 10), acoustic guitar (9)
- Roland Harker – guitar (2)
- Alan Parker – rhythm guitar (3)
- Caleb Quaye – lead guitar (3, 4, 5), additional guitar (9)
- Dave Richmond – bass guitar, double bass (1, 7, 8)
- Alan Weighall – bass guitar (3, 4, 9)
- Les Hurdle – bass guitar (10)
- Barry Morgan – drums (1, 3, 4, 7, 9)
- Terry Cox – drums (8, 10)
- Dennis Lopez – percussion (3, 4)
- Tex Navarra – percussion (9)
- Skaila Kanga – harp (2, 8)
- Paul Buckmaster – cello solo (8), orchestral arrangements and conductor
- David Katz – orchestra contractor
- Madeline Bell – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Tony Burrows – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Roger Cook – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Lesley Duncan – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Kay Garner – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Tony Hazzard – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Barbara Moore – backing vocals, choir leader (7)
Technical
- Gus Dudgeon – producer, liner notes
- Robin Geoffrey Cable – engineer
- Gus Skinas – editing
- Alan Harris – original mastering
- Tony Cousins – remastering
- Ricky Graham – digital transfers
- Greg Penny – surround sound
- Steve Brown – production coordinator
- David Larkham – art direction
- Stowell Stanford – photography
- Jim Goff – artwork
- John Tobler – liner notes
Accolades
Grammy Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Elton John | Album of the Year[11] | Nominated |
| Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male[12] | Nominated |
Charts
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[21] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[22] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[23] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[25] | Platinum | 1,000,000[24] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
1970 studio album by Elton John
Elton John is the second[a] studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John. It was released on 10 April 1970 through DJM Records. Including John`s breakthrough single "Your Song", the album helped establish his career during the rise of the singer-songwriter era of popular music.
In the US, Elton John 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 at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards. In 2003, the album was ranked number 468 on Rolling Stone magazine`s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. On 27 November 2012, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as an album cited as exhibiting "qualitative or historical significance".[2]
Production
This was the first of a string of John albums produced by Gus Dudgeon. As Dudgeon recalled in a Mix magazine interview, the album was not actually intended to launch John as an artist, but rather as a collection of polished demos for other artists to consider recording his and co-writer Bernie Taupin`s songs.[3] Two songs from the album did find their way into the repertoire of other artists in 1970: "Your Song" was recorded by Three Dog Night as an album track on their LP It Ain`t Easy, while Aretha Franklin released a cover of "Border Song" as a single that reached number 37 in the US pop charts and number 5 on the R&B chart, later included on her 1972 album Young, Gifted and Black.
The song "No Shoe Strings on Louise" was intended (as homage or parody) to sound like a Rolling Stones song.[4][5]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [6] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
John Mendelsohn in a contemporary (1970) review for Rolling Stone felt that the album was over-produced and over-orchestrated, comparing it unfavourably with the less mannered and orchestrated Empty Sky; though he felt that John had "so immense a talent" that "he`ll delight you senseless despite it all".[8] Robert Christgau in his weekly "Consumer Guide" column for The Village Voice also felt the album was overdone ("overweening", "histrionic overload", "semi-classical ponderousness"), but that it had "a surprising complement of memorable tracks", including "Your Song" which, despite its "affected offhandedness", he considered "an instant standard".[9]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Your Song" | 4:04 |
| 2. | "I Need You to Turn To" | 2:32 |
| 3. | "Take Me to the Pilot" | 3:46 |
| 4. | "No Shoe Strings on Louise" | 3:31 |
| 5. | "First Episode at Hienton" | 4:48 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Sixty Years On" | 4:35 |
| 7. | "Border Song" | 3:22 |
| 8. | "The Greatest Discovery" | 4:12 |
| 9. | "The Cage" | 3:28 |
| 10. | "The King Must Die" | 5:21 |
| Total length: | 39:27 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Bad Side of the Moon" | 3:15 |
| 12. | "Grey Seal" | 3:35 |
| 13. | "Rock and Roll Madonna" | 4:18 |
| Total length: | 50:35 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Your Song" (Demo version) | 3:33 |
| 2. | "I Need You to Turn To" (Piano demo) | 2:10 |
| 3. | "Take Me to the Pilot" (Piano demo) | 2:34 |
| 4. | "No Shoe Strings on Louise" (Piano demo) | 3:31 |
| 5. | "Sixty Years On" (Piano demo) | 4:20 |
| 6. | "The Greatest Discovery" (Piano demo) | 3:56 |
| 7. | "The Cage" (Demo version) | 3:20 |
| 8. | "The King Must Die" (Piano demo) | 5:22 |
| 9. | "Rock and Roll Madonna" (Piano demo) | 3:10 |
| 10. | "Thank You Mama" (Piano demo) | 3:19 |
| 11. | "All the Way Down to El Paso" (Piano demo) | 2:48 |
| 12. | "I`m Going Home" (Piano demo) | 3:03 |
| 13. | "Grey Seal" (Piano demo) | 3:18 |
| 14. | "Rock and Roll Madonna" (Incomplete band demo) | 2:53 |
| 15. | "Bad Side of the Moon" | 3:11 |
| 16. | "Grey Seal" (1970 version) | 3:34 |
| 17. | "Rock and Roll Madonna" | 4:16 |
| 18. | "Border Song" (BBC session) | 3:19 |
| 19. | "Your Song" (BBC session) | 3:59 |
| 20. | "Take Me to the Pilot" (BBC session) | 3:33 |
| Total length: | 65:49 | |
B-sides
| Song | Format |
|---|---|
| "Bad Side of the Moon" | "Border Song" 7" (US) |
| "Into the Old Man`s Shoes" | "Your Song" 7" (UK) |
Live recordings
John performed many of these songs live,[10] and included six of these ten songs on his 1987 album Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Personnel
Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.
- Elton John – piano, vocals (all tracks), harpsichord (2)
- Diana Lewis – Moog synthesizer (5, 9)
- Brian Dee – organ (6, 7)
- Frank Clark – acoustic guitar (1), double bass (10)
- Colin Green – additional guitar (1, 7), Spanish guitar (6)
- Clive Hicks – twelve-string guitar (1), rhythm guitar (4), guitar (7, 8, 10), acoustic guitar (9)
- Roland Harker – guitar (2)
- Alan Parker – rhythm guitar (3)
- Caleb Quaye – lead guitar (3, 4, 5), additional guitar (9)
- Dave Richmond – bass guitar, double bass (1, 7, 8)
- Alan Weighall – bass guitar (3, 4, 9)
- Les Hurdle – bass guitar (10)
- Barry Morgan – drums (1, 3, 4, 7, 9)
- Terry Cox – drums (8, 10)
- Dennis Lopez – percussion (3, 4)
- Tex Navarra – percussion (9)
- Skaila Kanga – harp (2, 8)
- Paul Buckmaster – cello solo (8), orchestral arrangements and conductor
- David Katz – orchestra contractor
- Madeline Bell – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Tony Burrows – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Roger Cook – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Lesley Duncan – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Kay Garner – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Tony Hazzard – backing vocals (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Barbara Moore – backing vocals, choir leader (7)
Technical
- Gus Dudgeon – producer, liner notes
- Robin Geoffrey Cable – engineer
- Gus Skinas – editing
- Alan Harris – original mastering
- Tony Cousins – remastering
- Ricky Graham – digital transfers
- Greg Penny – surround sound
- Steve Brown – production coordinator
- David Larkham – art direction
- Stowell Stanford – photography
- Jim Goff – artwork
- John Tobler – liner notes
Accolades
Grammy Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Elton John | Album of the Year[11] | Nominated |
| Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male[12] | Nominated |
Charts
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[21] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[22] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[23] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[25] | Platinum | 1,000,000[24] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
