The 7th studio album by Elton John, released on October 5, 1973
Hard to believe that this album is 50 years old. Which means I first heard it when I was 10 years old. Elton John was one of my favorite musicians when I was a kid. His music was all over the radio. I had this album and several others of his on 8-Track and played it often on my stereo. Many of the songs on this double album are still played on radio and often by me today.
Track List
The back cover of the original album
- “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”
- “Candle in the Wind”
- “Bennie and the Jets”
- “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
- “This Song Has No Title”
- “Grey Seal”
- “Jamaica Jerk-Off”
- “I’ve Seen That Movie Too”
- “Sweet Painted Lady”
- “The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909–34)”
- “Dirty Little Girl”
- “All the Girls Love Alice”
- “Your Sister Can’t Twist (but She Can Rock ‘n Roll)”
- “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
- “Roy Rogers”
- “Social Disease”
- “Harmony”
50 Years of Elton’s Best
This is Elton’s best album, both my opinion and thousands of others. The song that starts off this album “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” is not only my all time favorite Elton John song, but the grand entrance of sound gets you in the mood to enjoy the many other songs that follow it. Easily the first 4 songs are ones that everyone knows and sings and played so often just about everywhere. And while I only saw Elton live twice, six of the songs he played in concert were from this album.
I currently have two copies of the album on CD – one of which is the remastered version from 2014. I’ve played both (via digital) and compared the songs and there is a difference. If you have a subscription to Apple Music, the songs are available in lossless and Dolby Atmos. Feel free to add your comments below on this landmark album by Sir Elton.