A new box set of Elton John’s classic 1970s albums has been announced, even as he readies for a new tour.
Dubbed The Classic Album Selection, the set will include Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across The Water, Honky Château and Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player — released consecutively to broad acclaim from 1970-73.
[SOMETHING ELSE! REWIND: OK, Elton John doesn’t make music like he used to. But is it too much to ask that he at least try?.]
Perhaps the most underrated of the set is the album Tumbleweed Connection, which went to the Billboard Top 10 after its release in 1970. By the time Elton John was released that same year, John was set to go supernova: The album went gold on the strength of John’s initial UK hit, “Your Song.” Each of the next four albums then went platinum, with 1971’s Madman (featuring the hit “Levon”) and 1973’s Don’t Shoot Me going double and triple platinum, respectively.
1972’s Honky Château (which included “Rocket Man” and “Honky Cat”) became John’s initial No. 1 album in the U.S. Don’t Shoot Me (featuring “Crocodile Rock” and “Daniel”) topped the charts in both America and the UK. “Daniel” also became John’s initial Billboard No. 1 hit.
[SOMETHING ELSE! REWIND: On 2000’s ‘One Night Only: The Greatest Hits,’ Elton John showed he could still occasionally find the center of songs like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” in concert.]
This limited edition box set is set for release on July 2, 2012 through Universal Music. Each original album will be presented in its entirety, though without bonus or previously unreleased tracks. John begins a 25-date summer tour through Europe and North America on June 13, 2012, at Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England.
John has also announced a so-called Elton vs. Pnau remix album called Goodbye to the Night, in which the Australian dance duo Pnau was given run of his entire discography. That project is due on July 16, 2012.
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