Shop Ireland

Greatest Hits 1970-2002 (3CD) by: Elton John

More Product Details...

Review Pages: 1 2 Next »

Click here to add a review!

Average rating -

Rating: - The Definitive Elton John Collection!

I heard a story somwhere that shortly after the breakup of the Beatles John Lennon met Elton John off a plane and when down on his knees saying "No, no, its him, its him, its Elton!". Although touched by this jesture Elton was still very embarrassed as he had worshipped the Beatles as much as any other teenager at the time. "Get up," he thought "you're John Lennon!" In an unintended way this was indicating the approval of the passing of the baton from the world's favourite group to its most successful British soloist, Elton John.

After meeting through an advert in the New Musical Express in the late sixties, Elton and Bernie Taupin started writing and carried on for three decades, and still haven't stopped. Taupin wrote the songs, and Elton wrote the music, and together they kept realing off hit after hit, album after album. This is a collection of the best, on three discs and with over forty tracks this CD really is a must-have for any Elton fan.

It features hit songs such as: Rocket Man which apparently, is about a man who is sent to live in space as part of a scientific experiment. However, according to some, it is a symbol of how rock stars are isolated from their friends, family and from the real world. However, in an interview Bernie Taupin revealed that this song was about a cocaine user; "burning out a fuse up here alone".

Crocodile Rock, which is about a guy in the 50's and 60's who goes to a restaurant where the patrons, especially him, loved an obscure dance called the Crocodile Rock. However it never caught on and was soon forgotten about it. If you look deeper into the lyrics you can see that they are actually quite sad. He also performed it on the Muppet Show which is quite cool, and most kids like it.

Daniel, which was written by Taupin however when Elton came to write the music he chopped off the last verse because he thought the song was already too long. This completely changed the meaning of the song, as the deleted verse explained that "Daniel" was in fact a Vietnam Vet who returned home after the war and decided to leave America and go to Spain. The missing verse left the song open to missinterpretation. Both the lyrics and the music for Daniel were written on the same day as part of a mad writing fase.

An lets not forget the unforgetable Candle In The Wind originally written in 1973 as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe however Taupin rewrote the lyrics in 1997 so the song could be performed by Elton at Princess Diana's funeral. Over night it became the best selling single in history and still is. The rewritten version was only sold for a month and all the proceeds went to charity. Elton promised that he would not use the lyrics after that, and on this CD there is the original.

For the really Elton John fan there is a really nice booklet inside which charts the life of one of the greatest British artists ever and also includes lots of nice pictures of Elton both in the earlier years and the latter ones.

So as you can see this really is a wonderful CD with all of Elton Johns greatest hits including the ones mentioned and many, many more. This is an essential CD for anyone who calls themselves an Elton John fan, and it means that there no tracks which you want to skip becuase they are all good, and there is a nice mixture of fast and slow ones. Long live Elton and here to many more years of hits.

Rating: - Good Book Inside!

If you're reading this is because you are probably familiar with most of Elton John's songs in this record: they are listed, they are hits and as far as I remember nothing very important was missed. My personal opinion is that the songs are GREAT! One after the other for the 45 songs spread in the 3 CDs.

There's something else, that is worth mentioning: the book inside. It contains Elton's history, since the 70's, summarized into a dozen pages full with interesting stories!
Did you know that in the early 70's Elton and Bernie released two albums a year? That they had fifteen hit albums from 1970-76, including 7 consecutive US number ones? And that one of these number ones was a double album? Interesting, at least!!
The book inside is definitely one more reason to buy the album.

I got the feeling that I have all the essential. In one buy.

I wish the same will be done for other artists...

Rating: - 70s good, 80s/90s bad

To sum Elton John up so simply may seem unfair, however this is the first ever Elton John record ive ever bought and it does sum up 1970-2002 quite adequately. Id always had an aversion to Elton John, the recent hits were fairly mundane and it felt like id be betraying Bowie,Bolan,Ferry,Eno etc.

On the strength of the song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, i decided to buy the Greatest Hits (which i know is quite lazy but it was on sale.)
Cd One charts 1970-76. Everything from "Your Song" to r n b classic "Bernie and the Jets" is fantastic 70s funk/pop (except by now mawkish Candle in the Wind) The rock out numbers dont work quite as well as the ballads; Daniel and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road are amazingly put together while Tiny Dancer is gorgeously simple.Others acts (Bowie,Eno,T Rex,Roxy Music..) did rock so much better than Elton John but The Bitch is Back is fine with its nagging chorus. CD 1 holds up really well, although Sorry Seems to be Hardest Word is still as bad here as it was with Blue last year.

Cd Two is however a different story. The subtle melodies and organic production gives way to big fat sing along 80s choruses, such as Im Still Standing and bland MOR ballads such as Nikita, Blue Eyes, Made in England etc. Its just so dull compared to the creative and vibrant music making of the early 70s. Its not all awful; what gives Elton John fans hope is that the strongest tracks are the recent I Want Love and This Train Dont Stop There Anymore with warm 70s ballads feel and the closer; Song for Guy is a simple instrumental (from the 70s i may add)

Its not a bad Greatest Hits; i mean most of the 70s stars went off in the 80s (Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen...). Id recommend the early albums,(i bought Goodbye Yellow Brick Road on the strength of cd1) but if youre into 80s pap as well as 70s gold, youll adore this.

Rating: - Elton John

This is a brillant 3 disc cd with all of his greatests hits from 1970 to 2002 including 'are you ready' and other marvolous songs. A must have for all Elton John lovers or people who are getting into his music. A must have for mothers or father birthdays (a good dish cleaning album)

Rating: - Three Decades of Music In Three Hours

At the price of a single CD, you get three hours of some of the best music from one of the 20th Century's most popular and talented artists. Since the release (and subsequesnt re-release) of 1990's terrific box set TO BE CONTINUED, Elton John has hit the U.S. Top 40 twelve more times. All but four of those are included here, including the No. 1 duet with George Michael on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (included on the bonus disc), through 1999's duet with LeAnn Rimes on "Written in the Stars" from ELTON JOHN AND TIM RICE'S "AIDA." The only really glaring omission is his 1997 remake of "Candle in the Wind." However, I confess I much prefer the version included here from his 1987 album ELTON JOHN LIVE IN AUSTRALIA. In addition the 40-page booklet is filled with photos, liner notes by biographer Paul Gambaccini, and a complete pictoral album discography. So if you're looking to update the box set (like me), or simply waiting for a more economic greatest hits package that cherry picks the hits from the past thirty years, this album will not disappoint. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Review Pages: 1 2 Next »