Elton John - To Be Continued
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Elton JohnEdition: Music CD
Format: Box set, Limited Edition, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2000-10-31
Music Label: Island
Free Music Notes for To Be Continued
Free Music Review: One Of The Finest Boxed Sets Ever Issued
Hit: 5 Stars
Even though his career was far from over, by 1990 Elton John seemed more than ready for a boxed set of his career, and fans had their hopes fulfilled with the four cd "To Be Continued.." set, a career spanning, 68 track collection of his work up to that point.
Disc One contains his material from 1965 to 1972. This disc is a treasure trove of rarities for hardcore fans, including "Come Back Baby" from Elton's band Bluesology, his early singles "Lady Samantha" and "It's Me That You Need", the demo of "Your Song", the 1970 version of "Grey Seal" and "Friends", as well as classics like "Border Song", "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", "Levon", "Honky Cat" and "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters", as well as key album tracks like "Sixty Years On" and "Country Comfort". The only serious omissions are "Burn Down The Mission" and the fact that nothing from Elton's first album "Empty Sky" is included ("Skyline Pigeon" is one of the most important songs Elton and Bernie Taupin ever wrote, and its omission is almost unforgivable.
Disc Two starts off with "Rocket Man" before jumping to two choice cuts from "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player", the big hits and certified classics "Daniel" and "Crocdile Rock". Next comes a six tracks from the 1973 work of art "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". In addition to the familliar hits "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Bennie And The Jets", you get the epic "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding", the rocking "All The Young Girls Love Alice" and the luscious "Harmony". A few rarities come next. "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" is a 1950s' style rocker, "Jack Rabbit" is a novelty number, and "Step Into Christmas" is a jolly yuletide number. "Young Man's Blues" is jaunty rocker. "The Bitch Is Back" is surprisingly the sole representative from 1974's "Caribou", strange since the studio version of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" as well as the popular album track "Ticking" came from it. ("Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" is included in a live version on disc 4). "Pinball Wizard" is indeed a cover of The Who song from "Tommy", and in my opinion is better than The Who's version. Closing out this disc is "Someone Saved My Life Tonight", surprisingly the only track from "Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy". The title track, "Better Off Dead", "Writing" and "We All Fall In Love Sometimes/Curtains" should have been here. Also, the studio version of "Candle In The Wind" is omitted, but is included in a live version.
Disc three starts off with the smash soul hit "Philadelphia Freedom", followed by the John Lennon collaborations "One Day At A Time", the terrific hit cover of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and a live duet of "I Saw Her Standing There". Next is the lightweight number one hit "Island Girl", which is the only track from "Rock Of The Westies", but that is a good thing since it's a pretty weak album. After the smash hits "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee) and "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word", the 1978-1982 period is covered, a time when Elton lost Bernie Taupin's lyrics and his music careened all over the map without any real direction. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since a lot of Elton's best work came from this period, including the hits "Little Jeannie" and "Mama Can't Buy You Love", you get lesser known album tracks like "Song For Guy", "Chloe" and "The Retreat". Fortunately, by the end of the disc, Elton has seemed to have found his way again, thanks to the haunting hit "Blue Eyes".
Disc four kicks off with the stirring John Lennon tribute "Empty Garden", one of his best songs. This is followed by a string of 1980s' hits, including "I'm Still Standing", "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues", "Sad Songs (Say So Much)", "Nikita" and "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" (the latter represented in a good but inferior to the original seven minute dance remix). There are also live versions of "Candle In The Wind" (a version that made the top ten on both sides of the Atlantic) and "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me". The version of "Give Peace A Chance" is very funny. The four new tracks are brilliant, but I will just mention the standout track "Easier To Walk Away". Elton takes a stab at hip hop here and contributes a great vocal. The only songs I wish were on this disc are "Who Wears These Shoes" and "Healing Hands".
My only complaint other than the omission of certain tracks is that since this collection was released 15 years ago, it should have been remastered (which it is) and had two more discs of 1990-onward material. In case they do this, here is a potential track list.
Disc 1:
"Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" (with George Michael)
"The One"
"Emily"
"Sweat It Out"
"The Last Song"
"Whitewash County"
"The Simple Life"
"The North"
"True Love" (with Kiki Dee)
"Can You Feel The Love Tonight"
"Circle Of Life"
"Believe"
"Made In England"
"Blessed"
Disc 2:
"You Can Make History (Young Again)"
"Candle In The Wind 1997" (providing Elton will allow it)
"Something About The Way You Look Tonight"
"Recover Your Soul"
"Live Like Horses" (with Lucianno Pavarotti)
"Written In The Stars" (with Leann Rimes)
"Someday Out Of The Blue"
"I Want Love"
"This Train Don't Stop There Anymore"
"Original Sin"
"The Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes"
"Are You Ready For Love"
"Answer In The Sky"
Until then, thsi boxed set will have to do. It's a great compensation.
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