Customer Reviews

To Be Continued

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If you're on a tight budget, MCA's three Greatest hits CDs would provide you with most of the hits, but the box set with key album tracks and the occasional rarity is necessary to provide the listener with an accurate portrait of Elton John as one of the greatest pop artist of the past fifty years.

I passed on this sprawling 67-track collection when it first came out in 1990. [Hey, on a teacher's salary I simply couldn't afford it.] Then during the past year when I finally felt I could, I discover that MCA had let it go out of print! Searching online for used copies, I found that they were selling in excess of one hundred dollars. What a thrill it was to see it back in print. It contains every Top Ten hit (except "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is represented in a live version--and not the 1991 duet with George Michael). Altogether, you get 30 of his 45 Top 40 hits. And what a rush to hear John Lennon on "I Saw Her Standing There" (the b-side to "Philadelphia Freedom") from 1975.

I have only two complaints: First, with a 4-disc box set, I would like to have seen more (if not all) of his lesser hits included. I especially would like to have seen the inclusion of "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" (No. 14, 1976), "Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance)" (No. 28, 1977), "Part-Time Love" (No. 22, 1978), "Who Wears These Shoes" (No. 16, 1984) and "Healing Hands" (No. 13, 1989). Second, It's been ten years since this box set was first released. Why not add a fifth disc? Elton had seven Top 40 hits in the Nineties, including the million-seller "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King.

That said, Elton John along with the Beatles, Elvis Presley and few others had as big an impact on the musical landscape as any other artist of the 20th Century. If you missed this the first time around (like me), don't pass it up this time. ESSENTIAL

Not only is To Be Continued an absolute must for every Elton John fan but it has been remastered and sounds even better than it did 10 years ago! It sounded great when it was first released but I compared it with the original and there is no comparison.So if your thinking of getting this box set better put it on your wish list as each box is numbered and it apparently is a very limited edition.Don't miss it the second time around it may be the last.

For Elton John fans who don't want to buy all of his studio albums -and he made so many- "To Be Continued" encompasses most of Elton John's best work from 1965-1990. There are 67 songs in chronological order on 4 cd's. As with all boxed sets, it's what's missing that attracts the most attention. "Burn Down the Mission" and a studio version of "Dont' Let the Sun Go Down on Me" are the omissions that bothered me. But that said, "To Be Continued" is the most comprehensive collection of Elton John's work that you will find in one place.

The packaging is, well....big. The box is the size of an old vinyl album but thicker. It won't fit on most bookshelves. If you have a shelf for vinyl albums, this set will fit perfectly. The 4 cd jewel cases form a picture when placed side-by-side, which is neat. But the box is cumbersome. Included is a booklet that contains a lengthy interview with Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

I have owned this CD since it first came out (I can't believe it is 10 years) and it is one of my most listened to. EJ introducing John Lennon sent chills down my spine the first time I heard it. This is also one of the few places that you can find music from EJ's movie, Friends, which I remember going to see. This is a must have for any serious collector of 60's and 70's rock music

For those of you who haven't followed Elton's career since the beginning or thoroughly researched his catalog, this boxed set may appear a bit uneven or even confounding. In 1990 when Andy McKaie* compiled this collection, it was his intent to present the hits and a collection of rarities for hard-core fans like me. At the time, there were no remastered individual albums with bonus tracks (those were issued in 1995 and 1998) and no compilations such as Rare Masters (1993).

A major legal problem arose shortly after this set was issued in that Elton's catalog ended up being split between MCA Records, Geffen Records, and Dick James Music which had licensed Elton's classic 1969-1975 albums to Polygram records. As it turned out, this caused To Be Continued to be discontinued by 1992. Subsequently, MCA acquired Geffen Records and eventually, MCA and Polygram merged to form the largest record company in the world, Universal Music Group. Fortunately, for the first time, Elton's entire catalog was united under one label worldwide. With the legal obstacles removed, this beautiful set was reissued for those who may have missed it back in 1990. I think it is only supposed to be a limited run of 50,000 copies. The Reissue of Elton's classic albums with bonus tracks rendered much of the appeal of To Be Continued to completists moot, but it still includes a couple of 1965 tracks which still do not appear anywhere else and a few other genuine rarities. There are also four tracks that were recorded exclusively for this set, and a bizarre barely recognizable version of John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance".

As the title implies, there will most likely be a second boxed set at some point, and it will probably be much more extravagant than this one.

(*Andy McKaie is a Grammy-award winning special projects producer with MCA Records.)

I am 22 years old and have been an Elton John fan for about 8 years now, so I am still getting up to speed on the immense quantity of music which he has produced during his career. I've been to one of The Man's concert, and I own seven of his regular production albums. In an ideal world, I would go out and purchase everything he has ever released, but since I am a poor graduate student, this doesn't work too well. "To Be Continued" has offered me an excellent opportunity to become more familiar with the music Elton released before I was old enough to appreciate it, without forcing me to take out additional student loans. I would highly recommend this boxed set to anyone looking to gain a glimpse of Elton John's career before "The Lion King." I should also mention that in a decade during which so much bland music has been produced by so many boring bands, this boxed set offers the chance to enjoy some really original music by a really original artist.

It's a nice, big, bulky box filled with four CD's and a fantastic booklet about the history of Elton John - photos galore. Elton John has chosen his music carefully for this landmark collection and it clear what he considers to be his best work.

Starting in 1965, one is treated to early simple songs like, "Come Back Baby" and "Lady Samantha"; both classics. There's even a demo for "Your Song". The early seventies are well represented with his singles, but also include the original, bare-bones "Gray Seal" and closes with "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters". The mid seventies are most of the hits plus the B-Side, "Jack Rabbit" and "Step Into Christmas", a novelty song. A great John Lennon 'live' duet, "I Saw Her Standing There" is a nice addition. The third disc is more somber, representing the late seventies into 1982 with some nice instrumentals like, "Song For Guy", "Fanfare" and the under-rated "Blue Eyes" (Grammy nomination). Disc four contains the best of Elton John's eighties material, eliminating his 'dance' music except for the exceptional long version of "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That". This disc is also mostly hits except for the rare, "Act Of War", the instrumental, "Carla Etude" and the great "Give Peace A Chance".

If you don't want all the singles (some are very commercial) and need a true representation of the abilities of Elton John through 1990, this is a great retrospective. It shows you exactly what Elton John thinks is his best work - and it truly is.

I Think This Will Be A Nice Way To Introduce John's songs. Goes to 1965 to 1990. It Has A lot of his Greatest Hits Like Bennie And The Jets, Rocket Man,Your Song,Pinball Wizard,and More. It Also has some rarities like Ego,Song for Guy, and others. The Large 40 page booklet contains Rare Photos, Interviews By Elton And Bernie, Songs, And At The Bottom of Each page has some USA & UK Single Releases. If You Want The Rocket Man's Best Carrer of Hits And Some Great Rare Gems, Get To Be Continued...If You Want His Most Famous Hits I Would Recommend Greatest Hits And Vol.2.When I Brought This Box Set, I Liked It Because inside there where 4 cds of the likey Elton (Like A CD Puzzle).I Also Have Goodbye Yellow Brick Road on Cd. It Was Great. I Went To UK And I Saw The United Kingdom Version, It Was Different But I Brought It Anyway. These Were Collector Items. UK's Booklet was A 62 Booklet.These Were Very Expensive. You Would Also Find His [inexpensive] CD's At A Bargain Store Like Greatest Hits.If You Are A Rare Elton John Collectors I Recommend You Buy His 1992 Two Cd Set Cd Rare Masters. This Is A Great Collection.

Owning every CD Elton John has released, this one is the most comprehensive collection of hits, album cuts and rarities that can be found with any box collection. Beginning with a very early 1965 Elton written tune called, "Come Back Baby", you can hear the wonderful simplicity that started Elton's career. From then on, one recieves gem after gem. Unexpected highlights include the old songs, "Freinds", "Take Me To The Pilot", the original version of "Gray Seal" and "Lady Samantha". John Lennon makes his appearance on "One Day At A Time", "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Give Peace A Chance". There are some great B-Sides as well, such as, "Jack Rabbit", "Young Man's Blues", "Cartier", "The Retreat" and "Whenever You're Ready", plus others. Set also includes previously unreleased tracks, such as, "Ego" and popular album tracks like, "Country Comfort", All The Girls Love Alice" and "Song For Guy". A songwriters choice of his best material, Elton proves again that he cannot go wrong!

By 1990, Elton John had had more success in his 20 - year career than anybody could ever have expected. So it was no surprise thta the boxed set "To Be Continued" was released. It contained four discs filled with big hits, rarities and four new studio tracks made to entice hardcore fans (which still doesn't make them bad). The results were great, to say the least.

Disc 1 contains mostly rarities and album tracks along with a few hits singles. The rarest track here, a song Elton recorded in 1965 while he was a member of Bluesology. He also wrote the song, and despite his own criticism, his lyrics aren't that bad (I'm beginning write my own songs, and you should see how bad mine are), but the melody is better (and proof that Elton can write music in his sleep). There are more rarities here: "Lady Samantha", "It's Me That You Need", the demo of "Your Song", the first version of "Your Song", "Friends", "Bad Side Of The Moon" and "Rock And Roll Madonna". The album tracks here are also very good: "Border Song" (actually a single), "Take Me To The Pilot", "Sixty Years On", "Country Comfort" (surprisingly, the only representatice of "Tumbleweed Collection" here), and "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters". As for the hits, they're the usual: "Your Song", "Levon", "Tiny Dancer", "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat". Despite the fact we've heard these songs thousands of times, they're still great. I did find it a little bothersome that "Burn Down The Mission" wasn't included.

Disc 2 and the first part of disc 3 contain all of Elton's biggest 1970s' hits: "Crocodile Rock", "Daniel", "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Bennie And The Jets", "The Bitch Is Back", "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", "Philadelphia Freedom", "Someone Saved My Life Tonight", "Island Girl", "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee) and "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". Disc 2 also contains some excellent rarities like the piano version of "Skyline Pigeon", "Jack Rabbit", and the seasonal "Step Into Christmas". Two essential songs are missing, though: the studio versions of "Candle In The Wind" and "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me".

The second half of disc 3 contains Elton's most obscure works, such as "Ego", a bonechilling live version of "I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)", "Song For Guy", "Donner Pour Donner" (with France Gall) and "Chloe" are great songs yet to be discovered. Also, a few big late 1970s' and early 1980s' hits are included: the soulful "Mama Can't Buy You Love" (this song, a collaboration with "Philly soul" producer Thom Bell, was a surprise top 10 hit in August, 1979, peaking at number 9), the whimsical and wondeful "Little Jeannie" and the lush "Blue Eyes".

Disc 4 begins with the haunting John Lennon tribute "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)". This disc documents his 1980s' comeback, when he scored a huge string of classic hits: "I'm Still Standing", "I Guess That's Why Call It The Blues", "Sad Songs (Say So Much)", "Nikita", a chilling live version of "Candle In The Wind" and "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" (represented in a exhillerating 12" dance remix). As usual, there are great rarities here: a novelty version of "Give Peace A Chance", "Act Of War" (with Millie Jackson) and a pretty live version of "Carla Etude".

The bonus tracks are an excellent touch. "Made For Me" is a great rocker sing with gusto by Elton. "You Gotta Love Someone" is an uplifting gospel number used in the movie "Days Of Thunder". The chorus at the end is thrilling. "I Swear I Heard The Night Talkin'" is good if not all that memorable". The closer (of the disc and the set) is the best of the four. "Easier To Walk Away" is a soulful, Motown - style number with a great beat and equaly soulful vocals.

There are few complaints I must make about this set. First, there are several albums tracks I would have liked to have seen included: the previously mentioned "Burn Down The Mission", "Where To Now, St. Peter", "Amoreena", "Talking Old Soldiers", "This Song Has No Title", the "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" version of Grey Seal", "Solar Prestige A Gammon", "Cage The Songbird", "White Lady, White Powder", "Hoop Of Fire", "Paris", "I Fall Apart", "Amazes Me" and "Blue Avenue". And as one reviewer, several lesser singles are missing. They are:

"Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" (studio version) (number 2)
"Grow Some Funk Of Your Own" (number 14)
"Bite Your Lip (Get Up And Dance)" (number 28)
"Part Time Love" (number 22)
"Vicitm Of Love" (not needed since it's the title track to his disco album) (number 31)
"Sartorial Eloquence (Don't You Wanna Play This Game No More)" (number 39)
"Nobody Wins" (number 21)
"Kiss The Bride" (number 25)
"Who Wears These Shoes" (number 16)
"In Neon" (number 38)
"Wrap Her Up" (number 20)
"Heartache All Over The World" (not needed since it's from "Leather Jackets") (number 55)
"Flames Of Paradise" (with Jennifer Rush) (number 36)
"I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" (studio version, thogh dance version should still be kept) (number 2)
"A Word In Spanish" (number 19)
"Through The Storm" (with Aretha Franklin) (number 16)
"Healing Hands" (number 13)
"Club At The End Of The Street" (number 28)

Still, you can't have everything. Get this boxed set. It's a must - have collection for all music fans. Let's hope another Elton boxed set (maybe a live one) is released soon and spans up to today.