Goodbye Yellow Brick Road [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Elton John | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 20, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B000001DQI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  DVD Audio  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (318 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #482 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > Classic Rock > Glam
  • #9 in Music > Pop > Vocal Pop > Contemporary
  • #15 in Music > Pop > Adult Contemporary > General AAS

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Rarely mentioned as one of the great double albums, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road had to settle for ending up in a few million record collections. So sprawling that it doesn't quite measure up to the earlier, more laid-back Honky Chateau or the later, pushy Rock of the Westies, this still holds claim to a lot of brilliant, very pop-savvy music: the winking rebellion of "Bennie and the Jets" and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," the ready-made nostalgia of "The Ballad of Danny Bailey," the downbeat melodicism of "Harmony." --Rickey Wright

Product Description

The hit title track; Bennie and the Jets; Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting , and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 79 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! November 28, 2003

By C. S. Junker

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Since I purchased a Super Audio CD player (SACD) about six months ago, I've been disappointed by most of the surround sound mixes I've heard. It's true that remixing a recording that was originally prepared for two-channel stereo into 5.1 surround does create a different performance. So? The original stereo mix is still available (and with the two-layer "hybrid" format used here, it's readily accessible). As a result, most multi-channel mixes are fairly timid, placing the voice in the center speaker and perhaps daintily tossing a few stray ambient sounds into the rear speakers. When I buy a SACD, I want to hear something daring, something adventurous, in other words... something I haven't heard before.

On this new mix of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", the producer has pulled out all the stops and created a powerful, knock-your-socks-off reinterpretation that really deserves to be called "surround sound." Bold, vibrant music surges into all five speakers from the opening organ notes of "Funeral For A Friend", and the action never lets up until the last note of "Harmony."

This demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of surround sound re-mixes. On the plus side, you hear details that were buried before; backing vocals, guitar parts, and other dynamics leap out at you. This was always a lush recording, but you can now appreciate some of the ingredients more fully.

The downside, of course, is that some passages sound quite different from what you're used to. The opening of "I've Seen That Movie, Too," for example, is almost unrecognizable, as the guitars are much more prominent and even threaten to drown out Elton's piano. Perhaps the producer went a bit too far... but the original stereo mix is right there (and plays on SACD or ordinary audio CD players). "Yellow Brick Road" has been released several times on CD but it's never sounded this good. (We're back, however, to the two-disc format of the first CD issue.)

If you have a surround sound system, don't even think about it. Buy this disc. If you have a regular stereo CD and just need a copy of this record, this is the edition to get.

The DVD contains a 50 minute "making of" program that's fascinating and adds to the value of the package which is admittedly steep. Take note, however, that a more complete version of this video, running to 90 minutes, has been previously released separately on DVD, and the additional 40 minutes are well worth seeing. (I never realized that Nigel Olsson, Davy Johnstone, and Dee Murray did most of the backing vocals; their three-part harmonies rival anything by CSN.)

Note: This release is now available on DVD-Audio. This contains the same surround-sound mix as the SACD. DVD-Audio, with its greater storage capacity, is a single-disc release. The SACD, by contrast, is a two-disc set; however, unlike DVD-Audio, SACD can be copied onto ordinary CDs for car or portable stereo. Sound quality is virtually the same for both formats.

63 of 66 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even hardcore Elton fans will agree, this is his topper October 21, 2002

By 32-year old wallflower

Format:Audio CD

By 1973, Elton John & Bernie Taupin had already logged enough hits to become a part of rock history, but even as their fanbase continued to grow, they hadn't yet reached their peak. When HONKY CHATEAU became Elton's first #1 album in 1972, it proved that he was not just someone FM radio played all the time, even AM listeners (and the biggest single-buyers) had taken notice as well. Continuing with the breakneck pace of his early `70s days, Elton turned up DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER early in '73 & won his first #1 single with "Crocodile Rock". Whether or not, Elton & Bernie had a sudden burst of creativity or wanted to give their fans more bang for their buck, they decided to make the next LP a double, which as rock history has dictated many times before, is almost a no-win situation. Rarely has a double album been great with every single song & needless to say, Elton & Bernie's certainly wasn't. But even their lesser songs were still darn good, making GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD not only their crowning achievement, but a good example of how a double album should be made.

Right from the grandiose opener, Elton & Bernie certainly did their homework on the ways of a double album. "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" shows the influence of progressive rock on music of the time with its spacey synthesizer intro (not done by Elton) before leading into the piano-pounding rocker that details the end of a love affair in musical terms. Naturally, this had to have made one hell of an opener in Elton's concerts of this period & even when you just listen to it now, you can almost hear the possibilities for a stage performance of this song.

After that opening, ROAD takes the listener on many twists & turns through just about every conceivable genre of music that inspired Elton & Bernie throughout their careers up until that point. They namecheck reggae on "Jamaica Jerk-Off" (which sure is catchy, but not one you listen to a lot), R&B on the #1 hit "Bennie & The Jets" (it was also a hit on R&B stations, as well), Stones-based rock & misogyny on "Dirty Little Girl", more prog rock on the Yes-inspired "Grey Seal" & 1950s rock on "Your Sister Can't Twist [But She Can Rock & Roll]" (best when played as a segue to "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"). Occasionally, some songs sound better musically than lyrically, but you'd be a fool not to enjoy yourself either way.

But through all the genre experiments, there are still the perfect melodies & intelligent lyrics that have always been Elton & Bernie's fortes & ROAD still has plenty of those to spare. These include the #2 hit title track, the Marilyn Monroe tribute "Candle In The Wind" (a song that sounds good in both versions, believe it or not!), the heartbreaking closer "Harmony" (which has just that, beautiful harmonies equal to the Beach Boys) & cinematic epics like "I've Seen That Movie Too", "Ballad Of Danny Bailey [1909-34]" & "Roy Rogers".

Even with the hectic schedule Elton & Bernie put themselves on back in the 1970s, maybe a panoramic statement like GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD didn't seem all that impossible. But the fact it was Elton's second album of the year made it all the more astounding. With 3 major hit singles (the title track, "Bennie & The Jets" & "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting") & considerable airplay for about all the other songs on here, ROAD's runaway success was more than justified. While the follow-up would indicate maybe the duo had written themselves out, GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD still showed Elton John & Bernie Taupin at the top of their respective games & even today, it's something they should still be enormously proud of.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Benchmark 5.1 SACD April 3, 2004

By Daniel A. Cooper

Format:Audio CD

This was the first album I bought when I was 8 years old, and started me on a 30 year journey of music exploration. Amazingly, this album has stayed with me all these years, through worn-out vinyl to target double-CD to remastered CD to MFSL Cd and now, finally, to hybrid SACD. I say finally, because without a doubt this is the definitive version of this classic. To my ears, this is a benchmark multichannel SACD to which all others should be compared.

I'll skip right over the CD and SACD stereo layers and move right to a review of the 5.1 mix. This is an extraordinary mix. EJ's vocal is anchored in the center channel, with some bleed into the FL and FR, and unlike a lot of the early 5.1 mixes I've heard, his voice isn't overwelmed by the other speakers, but instead stands at the front of the mix just as it should. Davey Johnstone's legendary guitar sound is given a lot of space through the fronts and surrounds, Nigel Olsson's drums are more distinct and real than previous releases and the late, great Dee Murray gives the LFE channel a work out with his fluid bass lines. Add to that the ambient crowd noise on Bennie & the Jets and the until now indecipherable Jamaican dialogue on Jamaican Jerk-Off, and all-in-all you have a magnificent example of what 5.1 SACD can bring to the table.

I use this disc to show off my 5.1 system, especially for folks who are familiar with the album, and I have yet to find anyone who isn't impressed with the sound of the SACD. Buy it!!!

p.s. I have the version with the bonus DVD. It's interesting, but not worth the extra [money]. Only for the real EJ freaks like me.