Customer Reviews

Rocket Man: Number Ones (Eco-Friendly Packaging)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In late March 2007, shortly after Elton John's 60th birthday, Universal Music released yet another of his "Best Of" compilations, which, surprisingly, became a nearly instantaneous smash hit on the Billboard Charts. But is it truly a surprise when, in the course of a forty-year long musical career, Elton John and his lyricists, most notably his long-time partner Bernie Taupin, have crafted some of the finest examples of pop songwriting craft? Of course not, and this "Best Of" compilation truly demonstrates some of the most elegant examples of that craft, emphasizing almost exclusively, his early halcyon days back in the early to mid 1970s when he was truly "Captain Fantastic", the reigning king of pop and rock and roll in America. "Rocket Man: Number Ones" includes twelve hit songs which were at the top of the charts in various categories - virtually all Billboard's - plus five additional songs which have been long-time favorites at Elton's live performances. This CD-only version of Elton's latest greatest hits compilation is quite desirable for its list of songs that emphasizes the legendary earliest phase of his decades-long career. Packed in eco-friendly foam packing, the CD is accompanied by a thin booklet that lists the songs, co-writers (Primarily of course, lyricist Bernie Taupin; only two songs aren't listed as having been written by Elton.), the songs' producers, and a cover of the albums from whence these songs were released originally (or subsequently appeared if they were released initially as stand-alone singles). Best of all, this is a "Best Of" compilation that's worth acquiring since the sound quality is much better than on virtually any of his previous "Greatest Hits" compilations.

The opening tracks are a musical return to the "dizzy heights" of Elton's storied career: "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Bennie & The Jets", "Daniel" and "Crocodile Rock", which are still among the most popular long-time favorites at Elton's live performances. His absolutely brilliant cover version of The Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", "Philadelphia Freedom", "Island Girl", "Don't Go Breaking My Heart (with Kiki Dee)", and "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" close out the legendary 1970s phase of his career on this CD. Surprisingly, only three hits recorded after 1976 are included, out of many potential choices; "Sacrifice", "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (with George Michael)", and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" (co-written with lyricist Tim Rice originally for the Disney animated film "The Lion King"). Under the subheading "And Other Favorites", five classic songs from the 1970s serve as a musical bookend to this "Best of" compilation: "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)", "Candle In The Wind", and "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" (The last two songs were more popular in Great Britain than they were here in the United States at the time of their original release as hit singles back in the 1970s; in fact "Candle In The Wind" was the B Side of "Bennie & The Jets".).

I'm giving Elton John's Number Ones collection a 5-star rating because the quality of each and every song is high and NOT because I think it gives *complete* satisfaction to the listener. Come on, Elton John has WAY too many good songs to limit yourself to one collection of tunes. However, I'm surprised with some of these selections. "lucy in the sky with diamonds" and "island girl" being on the same collection with songs like "sacrifice" is a pretty cool and unexpected turn of events. Including the original version of "don't let the sun go down on me" is a nice touch as well. I have tons of respect for any collection featuring "don't go breaking my heart", probably one of his catchiest songs ever.

Of course, there's plenty of other classic songs that weren't included here that SHOULD have been. "someone saved my life tonight" probably being the biggest question mark. Where is it? I don't know if that song in particular reached number one, but the album title is misleading anyway because it doesn't focus entirely on number one hits, so the song should have been included.

Also, if you own classic Elton John albums from the early 70's, you already know that his biggest hits are most certainly NOT his best songs. That's the truth. You should probably seek those albums out first, such as Tumbleweed Connection and Captain Fantastic.

Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) has been a feature of the Rock-n-Roll scene since the 1970s, and was certainly a feature of my childhood. I can't remember those sunny days of my youth without hearing Bennie and the Jets, Crocodile Rock and Your Song. Well, they are back, and better than ever!

This great CD has 17 great Elton John hits - 12 number ones, and 5 other greats. Plus, they have all been digitally remastered, making the sound on the CD simply awesome. I could comment on each song if I wanted to - for example (and this might be heresy to some), I think that no one's rendition of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is better than Elton's - but, I will keep it short and sweet.

This is a great album, every song in it is a masterpiece, and sounds absolutely great. This is what I moved into CDs to hear, this kind of quality. Get this CD!

By the way, lest I forget, the environment-friendly packaging works great - yet another bonus!

Elton John always does things big; and this CD is no exception. This latest release covers all his biggest hits during his 35 year career. Although it claims to be comprehensive, Elton had so much success that many people will still wish this had included even more stellar songs than it already has! Indeed, there's simply not a loser in this bunch. Elton's recordings leave you excited and stunned at their beauty; and I dare you to be able to listen to the CD only once and then just put it away for good!

The CD starts off with twelve massive Elton John hits in chronological order: the track set begins with the classic "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." The sound is excellent, as it remains throughout the entire CD. "Bennie And The Jets" follows with an incredible beat; Elton's voice remains in excellent form here. The touching ballad "Daniel" continues the track set as Elton wishes his friend Daniel had not left him.

Other timeless hits--and truthfully, that would probably mean the whole album--include "Crocodile Rock;" this tune rocks hard as Elton laments a love gone awry. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" displays Elton's stupendous ability to make a cover of a Beatles song and yet infuse it with a certain flavor to make it his own. Awesome! "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" features a duet between Elton and George Michael; the crowd roars with delight as both artists have them in the palms of their hands.

The CD then gives us five bonus tracks to make this a very generous package. We get the beautiful ballad "Your Song" with its lush and very moving musical arrangement; and "Candle In The Wind" possesses equal sensitivity. "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)" allows Elton the chance to sing about a love that goes wrong; and the CD ends incredibly strong with Elton's hardest ever rockin' song, "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)." "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) is a timeless classic about youthful rebellion that any generation can appreciate. What a strong ending for the CD!

If you get the limited edition version of this package, you also receive a DVD that gives you a generous portion of Elton's 2005 "Red Piano Show" in Las Vegas; and you also get five bonus videos made at various times during Elton's career. The "Red Piano Show" video lasts about 25 minutes; you get terrific clarity as you watch Elton at a red piano with his band knocking out such hits as "Bennie & The Jets;" "Candle In The Wind" and "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" all with great videos playing on a giant screen behind Elton and the other performers. The bonus videos include an awesome "I'm Still Standing;" "Your Song" and "Tinderbox." "Tinderbox" boasts great special effects, too.

Unfortunately this eco-friendly packaging completely forgoes the CD booklet with lyrics and so much wonderful artwork. Big disappointment for die-hard fans! Yes, it is eco-friendly--but couldn't they have packaged this with some type of abridged booklet? I suspect that there may have been the desire to make a cheaper product that still makes them a profit. I will take off one star for this to make this a four star review.

Elton John is a living legend. Long after most "celebrities" have been buried and forgotten, people will still remember Elton John. Elton John possesses a singular talent for making people happy and letting them feel their sorrow through his songs. When Elton sings, you listen--and you listen closely, too, because Elton makes every syllable count as he emphasizes the exact sounds he wishes to emphasize for the right effect. We are immensely better off for Elton's sharing his genius with us; and I believe that his career will continue well into the future.

Obviously, Elton's fans will consider this a "must-have" for their collections; and people who enjoy great rock and pop will appreciate this CD, too.

Rock on, rocket man!

A few years ago a very successful album of #1 hits by the Beatles brought them back to the forefront of the musical world. Now the same can be said for this compilation of Number 1 hits spanning four decades from Elton John.

Fans of EJ will not really find anything new here (unless they buy the DVD version of this album which contains a number of stage performances). For the casual listener, however, this CD contains a treasure trove of EJ's greatest hits. Bigger fans who are part of the Ipod generation will probably have all of these songs downloaded already, though.

It's a great album of depth which includes the early richly orchestrated hits such as "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", "Daniel" and "Rocket Man" through his late 70s' and 80s' body of work which included "Yellow Brick Road", "Crocodile Rock", "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart", and 11 other chart toppers.

One last note, I was impressed with Island Music's decision to produce this CD with eco-friendly packaging and hope that other music labels consider to follow suit.

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

This year has been a year with lackluster music from so many artists. Nevertheless, it makes me just want to enjoy music that is more from the past than what has to be hot today from acts like Beyonce', Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. Elton John though is having a massive banner year, as he celebrates his 40th anniversary since he met his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, and his 60th Birthday at a wildly acclaimed performance at Madison Square Garden. With that triumph, comes another hits record that highlights his longtime highs as a singer. The question is, does it make new listeners to follow the yellow brick road?

Elton John's 2007 greatest hits album Rocket Man: Number Ones, is a hits package that spans four decades of great music that've all reached #1 on the charts, whether it is here or in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else around the world. The collection is nicely displayed on the outside with photos of him throughout his career, while the record itself is purely Elton. Although many hits records released this past year have all been mediocre, this one works well as a nice reintroduction to a new geneartion of Elton's music. The collection includes so many great songs including Your Song, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me with George Michael, Sacrifice which hit #1 in the United Kingdom, Don't Go Breaking My Heart with Kiki Dee, and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, which was overshadowed from his previous Greatest Hits 1970-2002. Although there are a lot of great songs here from Elton's career, there are a few tracks that did hit number one that were sadly overshadowed including Believe which hit #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts in 1995, Something About The Way You Look Tonight from The Big Picture, and the Princess Diana tribute Candle In The Wind 1997 which is the biggest-selling #1 single of all time.

Despite a few tracks that were overlooked, Elton John's Rocket Man: Number Ones is a great buy for those who don't even yet own an Elton album, and works as a nice reintroduction to a legendary singer and performer who has continued to thrive for over 5 decades. I really love his music, and this is a welcomed hits record.

Album Cover: A

Songs: B-

Price: B

Remastering: A-

Overall: B 1/2-

I have never been a huge fan of Elton John, but I liked his music well enough to merit the purchase of a greatest hits album. There have been many Elton John compilations that I have seen, but this one seemed to suit my wants best. I am not at all disappointed. This album has all the material that I love from Elton John. I would definitely recommend this one if you're a more casual Elton John fan.

gave as a gift to my nephew he loved it, it has all the greatest hits.

I hate commercial compilations! Did they honestly believe that those of us who have followed Elton John and bought his records for forty years wouldn't already have this stuff? Not only that, since we DO already have this stuff, did they not believe that we haven't loaded every album into iTunes and could come up with far better compilations than ANYTHING they could come up with?! Well, I have, and in my opinion if they want people like me to buy CDs anymore they have to do way better than this. And I'm sorry, a cool cover photo is not going to be enough for me.

No sale!