Elton John - Rare Masters
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Free Music Notes for Rare Masters
Free Music Review: For the Serious Elton John Fan
Hit: 4 Stars
Have you ever wondered what happened to those Elton John songs that were released, but were not part of an album? How about that Christmas song that crops up every now and then on a classic rock station ("Step into Christmas"). Well, there were enough of these songs to collect into a 2-CD set.Before buying this set, I was unaware that Elton John had recorded his first single in December 1967, which was then released in March 1968. Listening to the songs from the late 60s, you can also see a much stronger blues influence than was evident in the songs from the 1972 onward. One of the great features of this set is the 24-page booklet that includes comments from Bernie Taupin as well as explanations by the author of the booklet regarding the history of each song. The booklet alone is a must-have for the serious Elton John fan.
There are so many songs on this CD that I would be unable to talk about every single one, so instead let's focus on some of the highlights.
The entire soundtrack from "Friends", an early 70s movie, is included on the first CD. I am either proud or regretful to say that I actually saw this movie in the theater when it was released. The movie was okay; Elton's soundtrack was lovely. I admit that every time I listen to the soundtrack, I think about the movie, which was poignant, though a bit weak. Elton's first effort at a movie soundtrack was very good, and was a harbinger of the distant future when he provided music for many more movies.
Two other very interesting tracks on disk 1. "Lady Samantha" is often considered the song that got the music industry interested in this young singer/songwriter. Released the same year as "Empty Sky" in England, and a year before Elton's U.S. debut, things moved very fast for Elton from that point. The other song is "Grey Seal", a much more polished version of which appeared on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". This version is more bluesy, and slower, than the later version. You can feel Elton's raw talent on this song.
Disk 2 has many more gems. There is a blues-rock version of "Madman Across the Water" that lasts for nearly 9 minutes. Though portions of this song are dated, this is harder rock than Elton usually plays. There is a newer recorded version of "Skyline Pigeon", originally recorded for the "Empty Sky" album. This version shows the evolution of Elton's skill as a singer and a musician. Another song I enjoyed was "Step into Christmas", released in November 1973. This song did not do well as a single, which was surprising given Elton's popularity during this time frame, but the song is a fun, fast-paced rock Christmas song. The lyrics are simple, the hooks are catchy, but still one of the best rock Christmas songs I can recall.
"I Saw Her Standing There" is a live duet recorded with John Lennon in Madison Square Garden on 28 November 1974. While the sound is not great, this song was John's last live appearance before a live audience. The booklet explains in detail the origin of this song, which was based on a bet between Elton and John Lennon.
There are a number of other wonderful songs. There are a couple that are not so wonderful. However, on the balance, I am pleased with this 2-CD set. Certainly, this boxed set is a must-have for any serious Elton John fan. This music spans his most creative era, from 1967 to 1975. The songs are ordered chronologically, which gives the listener a real flavor for the musical evolution of the first superstar of the 70s. Enjoy!
Free Music Review: Good music, but you can find a lot of this elsewhere..
Hit: 4 Stars
When this was orignally released in 1992, it was the first CD appearance of these rare and unreleased tracks. Since then, most of them have been released as bonus tracks on Elton's remastered albums. A few have not, however:
"I've Been Loving You/"Here's to the Next Time" -- Elton's very first UK single, these songs show Elton trying to imitate people like Anthony Newley, Tom Jones or Engelbert. Unfortunately, barely-out-his-teens Elton didn't have the vocal chops necessary to carry it off, and guitarist Caleb Quaye couldn't provide the big production this sort of thing needs. Strictly of historical interest.
The "Friends" soundtrack -- music for an obscure film, this was actually a collaboration between Elton, lyricist Bernie Taupin, and orchestrator Paul Buckmaster, who had done arrangements for Elton's "real" albums. Elton and Bernie actually came up with only 3 film songs -- the lovely title track; "Michelle's Song", a rolling mid-tempo ballad with some evocative lyrics; and "Seasons", a brief track which is also reprised at the end of the album. However, the producers wanted more songs, so two songs were pulled from the lineup from "Madman Across the Water" - the bouncy, but slight throwaway "Honey Roll" and the excellent "Can I Put You On?", a lengthy rocker with a very British character sketch. The rest of the album consists of three instrumental varitations on the album's songs and a Buckmaster original piece, "Four Moods".
"Rock Me When He's Gone" -- this is this collection's real find. An outtake from "Madman..", it's an upbeat gospel-rocker that would have been more in place on the next album, "Honky Chateau" than among the somber mood of "Madman.."
"Let Me Be Your Car" -- a demo of a tune that Rod Stewart used on his "Smiler" album. A boogie-woogie piano track.
"Ho, Ho, Ho.." -- the flip side of the "Step Into Christmas" single, a goofy track about an encounter with Santa, complete with bizarre sound effects.
With the vast majority of the songs now available on the reissues of the albums from "Empty Sky" through "Rock of the Westies", it probably makes more sense now to find those albums first, then to download the "Friends" songs and "Rock Me When He's Gone", rather than purchase this whole album.
However, most of these songs, even if they were B-sides and outtakes, are as good as anything on the actual albums. It's a good collection in it's own right, anyway.
Free Music Review: Complete set of Elton rarities 1968-1975
Hit: 4 Stars
I was delighted to find this 1992-release 2CD set for sale in November 1993 in a music retail store in Melbourne without having being aware previously of its existence. What a great find, I exulted!! I already knew of these songs via a 1981 Elton John discography I had read, but was pessimistic about tracking down the ridiculously overpriced original 7" vinyl singles needed to complete my collection of Elton's early work.
Some great stuff on here that you won't hear on any other Elton album (or anywhere else for tht matter):
1968 I've Been Loving You - his first single. Not real great but, hey, everyone's got to start somewhere!
1969 Lady Samantha - groovy evocative song, the best of his pre-fame singles
1970 B-sides Grey Seal and Bad Side Of The Moon. The latter has a catchy repeated intro line that I still can't figure out what they're singing despite many, many listens; it sounds like "Who's a mile high, who's a mile high ...!!" but I could be wrong there!
1970 Friends - a nice song , sort of romantic and sentimental
1970 Can I Put You On . I like this one - it sounds like it could have been recorded for Tumbleweed Connection . Rocking finale
1971 The extended version of Madman Across The Water is cool
1972 The re-recorded version of Skyline Pigeon, done at the same time as the Don't Shoot Me... sessions. Fantastic song
1973 Let Me Be Your Car. Elton does this as a piano + voice demo and gives it a lot of sparkle
1974 Cold Highway and Sick City . B-sides to Caribou singles would have helped that album if included in place of dud tracks.
1974 Live version of John Lennon /Elton version of I Saw Her Standing There. Indispensible night of magic at Madison Square Garden in Nov. 1974
1975 Sugar On The Floor - Well-sung soulful ballad written by Kiki Dee (Elton's favourite duet partner)
There are enough rarities here to keep all but the most ardent completist fans satisfied forever. Now, all that's missing is the companion set collecting all his 80's and 90's rarites...
By the way, the liner notes include comments on individual songs from Bernie Taupin , but not from Elton himself.
Free Music Review: Still relevant? Well, perhaps ...
Hit: 4 Stars
When "Rare Masters" was first issued in 1992, CDs had solidified their place in pop culture, but the concept of bonus tracks on re-releases of re-releases of remasters of albums we'd already bought four times previously hadn't taken off quite yet. So, when this set, jammed with what were at the time hard-to-find singles and other obscure releases from Elton John, hit record stores, it was time to party! Elton fans had pretty nice CD versions of some great b-sides, rarities and, for the first (and still the only) time on CD, "Friends," previously only available on vinyl.
Cut to 15 or so years later and the set has lost some of its intrinsic value. All the tracks on Disc 2, for example, have since reappeared on the various updates of Elton's albums from his purple period as bonus tracks and so on. So has part of Disc 1, but what continues to make the set of any value at all are the first two tracks on Disc 1: "I've Been Loving You" and "Here's To The Next Time" have yet to surface on CD in any other form, and of course there's the "Friends" soundtrack, still only available cleaned up and on CD here and here alone.
Eventually even those appearances may be supplanted by other versions, but for now, if you don't have many of the songs on any other recordings, or just want to have all the Elton you can get your hands on (don't we all?), then pick up a copy. It does have a nice booklet as well, with notes from Taupin on the various recordings. That and the "Friends" set alone are easily worth it.
Free Music Review: It's worth having simply for the "Friends" soundtrack alone!
Hit: 4 Stars
I understand that apparently most (all?) of the rarities on this box set are available on the newly-remastered individual albums as bonuses. But even if that's true, who cares? The fact that the soundtrack to "Friends" has been re-released in ANY form is worth the price of admission in itself, as it is quite simply the loveliest soundtrack work Elton has ever done (forget "The Lion King"!), weaving light rock/pop and orchestrations into a distinctive whole of hippie innocence. As wonderful as this all is, there is one complaint I have--one which annoys me to no end and the only thing that keeps me from awarding this set five stars. The song sequence of the "Friends" soundtrack, for some weird reason, has been slightly juggled. Why, I don't know, as I can't think of any good reason for it. But this means that those of us who adored the vinyl version of it first won't be able to listen to it in the same order that was on our old records. Some probably won't notice this, but I found it annoying because I loved the original song sequence exactly as it was. I've actually gone through the trouble of using my CD-burner to make a backup of my own "Friends" CD with the songs in their original sequence. The box is otherwise perfect and the songs magnificent throughout, but be prepared to have to do at least some track-play programming every time you insert the CD if you want to hear "Friends" the same way you did all those tender years ago.