The Union

Elton John, Leon Russell | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B003TWP5JC
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (233 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #785 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

(NEW YORK, NY) July 6, 2010 - Decca Records is pleased to announce the release of the highly anticipated collaboration between two musical legends, Elton John and Leon Russell with The Union available October 19 in the U.S. (To be released October 25 in the U.K. on Mercury Records.) This album marks the first time these iconic artists have worked together since 1970.

Produced by Oscar and multiple-Grammy winning producer T Bone Burnett, who took home numerous awards in 2009 for his production work on Raising Sand with Robert Plant and Alison Krause, The Union features songs written by John and his lifelong lyricist Bernie Taupin, as well as in combination with the extraordinary talents of Russell and Burnett.

Recorded live in the studio with John and Russell on dueling pianos, the album features a variety of musical genres from R&B, soul, gospel, country, pop and rock. Icons Neil Young and Brian Wilson provide guest vocals on the 16-track record along with legendary R&B organist Booker T. Jones, steel guitarist Robert Randolph and a 10-piece gospel choir.

Russell first met John in 1970 when he attended John's first ever U.S. show at the famous Troubadour in Los Angeles. The meeting heralded the beginning of a long friendship and a mutual appreciation between the two artists. "In the late '60s and early `70s, the one piano player and vocalist who influenced me more than anybody else was Leon Russell," John said. "He was my idol." The pair went on to tour together shortly thereafter at New York's Fillmore East and to this day have held such high admiration for each other's work.

After years of being out of touch, John listened to Russell's music while on safari in Africa last summer and was inspired to reconnect with his idol. "Elton called to ask if I would do a duet album with him,'" Russell said. "I'm very happy that he chose me to do this."

The monumental career of international singer/songwriter and performer Elton John has spanned more than three decades. He is the one of the top-selling solo artists of all time with 35 gold and 25 platinum albums and more than 250 million records sold worldwide. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has awarded John multiple Grammys, including the Grammy Legend Award.

Russell has performed his gospel-infused southern boogie piano rock, blues and country music for over 50 years. This legendary and Grammy award winning musician and songwriter has topped music charts, led the famous Joe Cocker's `Mad Dogs & Englishmen' tour, performed with George Harrison and Friends at the Concert for Bangladesh and in 2006 was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Bare Bones International Film Festival.

The Union is a unique collaboration of two of the most talented artists in the music business. Combining forces and fusing diverse talents, John and Russell along with Burnett have produced an extraordinary album.

Product Description

Set for release by Universal in October, 2010, and produced by T Bone Burnett, The Union marks the culmination of a mutual musical adoration that began in the late 1960s, ahead of Elton's debut US performance in 1970 at The Troubadour Club in Los Angeles. The album is a collaboration between Elton and Leon Russell, with songs by Elton and Bernie Taupin; by Elton, Bernie and Leon; by Elton and Leon and by Leon alone.

The Union was recorded in Los Angeles earlier this year, with guest musicians including Brian Wilson, Booker T, Don Was and Neil Young. Cameron Crowe has filmed the sessions for a documentary, creating too a moment of history as this is the first time that the genesis of Elton's music has been recorded on film. Critics who have had an early preview of the album are united in praise for the work that Elton describes as a "Seventies record with a modern feel."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

172 of 177 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Blissful Union, October 19, 2010

By 

Rudy Palma "The Writing Fiend" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Union [includes Making of DVD by Cameron Crowe] (Audio CD)

As he mentions in the liner notes - and on the 6-minute bonus DVD that accompanies the deluxe edition - "The Union" is Elton John's acknowledgement of Leon Russell's profound influence on his skill set as a pianist and vocal interpreter.

And what an acknowledgement it is. Elton collaborates warmly and enthusiastically with Russell (producer T-Bone Burnett accommodates this well), sharing equal disc space. This is a definite joint effort - one that set outs to recapture both the decades lost between these two irreplaceable musicians and that early 70s sound listeners associate with both of them. Happily, it succeeds.

"Gone to Shiloh," a southern-fried ballad fraught with pain and longing (many of the songs here are - this is a mostly downbeat record), would sound at home, for instance, on Russell's classic-self-titled record and Elton's indestructible "Tumbleweed Connection." Neil Young contributes a verse.

The same goes for "Jimmie Rodgers' Dream," the chugging "Monkey Suit" and "Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes," an elegant, classy tribute to Russell from Elton. To the attentive ear their melodies may suggest preceding work from Elton from the past decade or so - inevitable in a long, prolific career - but the results are so strong that it is a non-issue.

Elton has not sounded this animated since 2001's "Songs from the West Coast." His lively vocals on "Hey Ahab" and assistance on Russell's gospel-fused "Hearts Have Turned to Stone" are evidence enough. The latter is razor-sharp and absolutely harrowing in its commentary on the frigidity of contemporary life.

Russell is indeed in his absolute element. His "If It Wasn't For Bad" is the lead single and opening track, and its haunting, hurts-so-good ruminations on unhappy love are instantly catchy. His lyrics here have such cut and undercurrent that they reveal their profundity and ache with increased plays, which are beckoned with each spin of the album.

His collaboration with Elton's lyricist Bernie Taupin "I Should Have Sent Roses" is another fine example. A duet with Elton, it is one of the sharpest, most biting tracks in the latter-day catalogues of either musician.

"When Love Is Dying" and "Never Too Old (to Hold Somebody)" are even stronger. Plaintive and emotion-filled without descending to saccharine sweetness, they benefit from the singers' oaken voices and well-practiced studio skills. Between these men is nearly a century's worth of practice and refinement of skill, and the results reflect it. These songs sound effortless and matter-of-fact, as though the sentiments they express are at once confirmed truths.

Elton John and Leon Russell should have sat down to record 20 years ago - that much is certain - but they make up for lost time very well. "The Union" is a collaboration that lives up to the promise and hype it entails.

The deluxe edition contains two additional tracks: "My Kind of Hell" and the gorgeous "Mandalay Again."

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars GREAT MUSIC:::DVD is a WASTE OF TIME & MONEY, October 24, 2010

By 

Herb Decordova "HerbSpeaks" (Flushing, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Union [includes Making of DVD by Cameron Crowe] (Audio CD)

When I pre-ordered this selection, I needed to decide between the CD only or the CD/DVD set. After giving it some thought, factoring-in that Cameron Crowe directed the DVD, and that I hoped it would add to the overall experience, I opted for the set. What a buzz-kill. The DVD is all of 6 minutes (okay...maybe it's 10 minutes) long. That's it! You hit the >>>PLAY button and see/listen to Elton speak about how he loves Leon and Leon was one of his earliest influences and that he's pissed-off that "people" seem to have forgotten Leon, and that while travelling on an African Safari (with David) he contacts Leon and T-Bone and runs the idea past everyone and they're all on- board and they go to the studio, and hug and we see them play together for about 53 seconds and the DVD ends. What the....?

The CD is awesome. Great collection of original songs...most written by Elton and Bernie Taupin with selections/contributions and collaborations with and from Leon and T Bone. The CD booklet is also excellent. Great to read, great photos and great tributes. You can tell the entire project was a labour of love...all the way around. I just wish the DVD was an hour longer...and, with a project of this depth and feeling, it should have been.

P.S. The "Live from The Beacon Theatre" concert was excellent. I did hope that, at minimum, Joe Cocker would have joined-in for a rousing Delta Lady....but, no such luck : (

60 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He's Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack, October 19, 2010

By 

Catherine, the Music Junkie (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Union (Audio CD)

Leon's back and it's great to hear some new material. I've been excitedly waiting for the release of this cd for a couple of months and it did not disappoint.

I hear a lot of the old Leon (Delta Lady, Queen of the Roller Derby, Stranger in a Strange Land) and my most favorite Elton album ever (Tumbleweed Connection) in this Union. It brings back great memories. Someone said they should have cut this disc 20 years ago and I agree although, perhaps, it's the collective experience that takes it back to those simpler times and tones and gives this disc everything we are loving about it: simple techniques, great lyrics, and 2 amazing voices.