Rocket Man - Number Ones

I love love love it. Yes, there are those of us who have every CD that has ever come out, and this CD resides next to the others. These are the classic songs that just this past weekend I sang with my aunt at the local pub.

Yet another Elton John Greatest Hits release. Let's face it, Elton has too many hits to fill a single CD. What's sad is, some of the lesser known but equally good singles never get included in any of his compilations. I am thinking of tracks such as "Empty Garden", "Mama Can't buy you love" and the brilliant "Chloe".

Now back to this new release to mark Elton's 60th birthday:

A search of different websites around the world shows different track listings. I think the UK listing is close to Australia's but UK contains some tracks which were minor hits. Fortunately Australia has removed those and added key tracks like "Blue Eyes" and "Don't go breaking my heart". The US edition isn't bad either but I'll put my money on the Australian version, see below:

Australian tracklisting:

1. Bennie And The Jets
2. Philadelphia Freedom
3. Daniel Gus Dudgeon
4. Rocket Man
5. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
6. Tiny Dancer Gus Dudgeon
7. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
8. Don't Go Breaking My Heart
9. Candle In The Wind
10. Crocodile Rock
11. I'm Still Standing
12. Saturday Night's Alright
13. Your Song
14. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
15. Sacrifice
16. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
17. Tinderbox
18. Blue Eyes

Elton John - Number Ones

The Beatles did it. Elvis Presley did it. Even Mariah Carey did it, so why not Elton John? Each of the above artists released compact career retrospectives containing nothing but `number one' hits, and each has sold remarkably well, so it is understandable why the Universal Group would want to apply the same logic to Elton John. His career spans decades, and his track record on the pop charts is up there with the best, so a collection of `number one' hits is bound to be a successful business venture, but is it valuable to consumers? That depends on a number of factors.
If you have been a fan of Elton John for any length of time, then the odds are good that you already own most of the songs on "Number Ones." There have been numerous opportunities to own virtually every song featured here. Elton John's "Greatest Hits, Vol. 1" already featured "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Bennie & the Jets," "Daniel," "Crocodile Rock," "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (less George Michael), "Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Candle in the Wind" and "Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting). Greatest Hits Vol. 2 contains "Lucy in the Sky," Philadelphia Freedom" "Island Girl" and "Tiny Dancer". Between these two platinum-selling releases, all but four songs are covered. A later two-disk collection called "Greatest Hits 1970-2002" contains every track on "Number Ones" except the Beatles cover ("Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds"), and then goes on to include an additional seventeen tracks of hits, so the question really is, "Do we need this?"
A second point of consideration is the title itself. Calling an album "Number Ones" implies that every song peaked at the top of the charts, but a semi-bogus disclaimer appears after the first twelve songs that states "and other favorites". Apparently, John (or more accurately, Universal Records) didn't have enough number one hits to fill out a full-length disk, so they padded it with "other favorites." Among the twelve that are alleged to be "number ones", only seven of them topped the charts in the U.S., so they must be including European chart information as well. Unfortunately, I can't say for sure because the disk's booklet contains virtually no information or original artwork. My conclusion? If you somehow managed to get this far without buying any of the previous Elton John collections, then this is a succinct way to start. If you decide it's worthwhile, be sure to obtain the "Limited Edition" package, which contains a second disk of videos. Otherwise, "Number Ones" is redundant and perhaps a bit misleading as well. B Tom Ryan

Only in 2002 Elton John released a double CD best of which included the worst also, tracks like "Nikita" and "Made In England".

Since then, the man's career has not exactly been as buoyant as the hype suggests. So, following several underperforming albums - here is yet another greatest hits collection.

Cannily, or should I say blatantly, released to coincide with his 60th Birthday Party Concert - this definitive hits album excludes the tracks you wish to forget. It also includes the average new single "Tinderbox".

There is no doubting that our Reginald has made some great music. Tracks like "Your Song" and "Tiny Dancer" are classics and all here. But you if you are a fan, you have got them numerous times.
The TV appearances and concerts showed that the voice has weakened over the years as has the stage presence.

The only thing that this album proves is that there is more to Elton John than being a friend of Liz Hurley's or Victoria Beckham.

But if you cringed your way through the TV special as the plastic celebs danced in the aisles - this Emperor's New Clothes Collection will not sway you.

Your best bet is to dig out your dusty version of the brilliant classic "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and weep.

I think this has been done before, there was a best of set released after "Songs From The West Coast" came out. Now we got another one, with a DVD as a additional item to get buyers to buy this set. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Big Elton fan but "another" "Best Of" collection. If your really serious on getting this album, take the DVD performances & burn them to CD/mp3. those really are the only tracks worth buying this collection for in which all these other songs have been re-released many times before ;-) Search "Judemac Forever" on msn.