Elton John - Diamonds (3 CD, Deluxe, 2017)

 

Elton John was one of the biggest pop star of the '70s, grabbing headlines and generating hits throughout the world. As it turned out, this was merely the first act in a remarkable career that kept him at the top of the charts for over 25 years. He charted a Top 40 hit single every year between 1970 and 1996, a sign that he knew how to both change with the times and mold the times to fit him. Initially marketed as a singer/songwriter, John soon revealed he could craft Beatlesque pop and pound out rockers with equal aplomb. He could dip into soul, disco, and country, as well as classic pop balladry and even progressive rock. His versatility, combined with his effortless melodic skills, dynamic charisma, and flamboyant stage shows, became his calling cards and many of his songs - including "Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" - became contemporary pop standards.

Elton John Diamonds Greatest Hits Collection 3CD limited edition box-set contains 34 tracks over two discs, plus 17 bonus tracks of personal favorites curated by Elton himself.

Arriving ten years after the single-disc Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits (known as Rocket Man: Number Ones in North America) and 15 years after the double-disc Greatest Hits 1970-2002, Diamonds ups the game by offering two variations on Elton John’s greatest hits: a double-CD version and a limited-edition triple-disc box set. Given John’s canon is close to set, it should come as no surprise that Diamonds follows the same path as its predecessors — indeed, the first ten songs on Diamonds are the same as those on Greatest Hits 1970-2002, with minor rejiggering; ultimately, there is a 26-song overlap — but within its standard two-disc set, it finds a place for some important hits absent in prior comps. Notably, this has “Little Jeannie,” “I Don’t Wanna Go on with You Like That,” and his live duet with George Michael, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” all welcome additions, and as it extends into the present, it also finds space for John’s artistic renaissance of the 21st century in the form of “Electricity,” “Home Again,” and “Looking Up.”

The third disc on the deluxe version deepens the story further by adding a bunch of hits that could’ve feasibly been included on the first two discs — “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Mama Can’t Buy You Love,” “Part-Time Love,” “Victim of Love,” “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny),” “Kiss the Bride,” the superstar charity single “That’s What Friends Are For” — and also underscores his enduring stardom and cultural reach by including OK ’90s U.K. hits with Kiki Dee, Pavarotti, and LeAnn Rimes, plus his 2012 U.S. dance hit with Pnau, “Good Morning to the Night” (conspicuous in their absence is any duet with Leon Russell). This last disc offers up plenty of hits but it also feels slightly messy because of the leap from “Kiss the Bride” to “Live Like Horses,” but that only indicates how John would’ve been equally well served by a four-disc set. Instead, we get this excellent — if incomplete — collection that is equally satisfying in either its double-disc or triple-disc incarnation.


CD1
01. Your Song (Remastered) [04:03]
02. Tiny Dancer (Remastered) [06:15]
03. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long Long Time) [Remastered] [04:42]
04. Honky Cat (Remastered) [05:14]
05. Crocodile Rock (Remastered) [03:56]
06. Daniel (Remastered) [03:55]
07. Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) [Remastered] [04:55]
08. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Remastered) [03:15]
09. Candle In the Wind (Remastered) [03:49]
10. Bennie and the Jets (Remastered) [05:23]
11. The Bitch Is Back (Remastered) [03:44]
12. Philadelphia Freedom (Remastered) [05:30]
13. Island Girl (Remastered) [03:44]
14. Someone Saved My Life Tonight (Remastered) [06:47]
15. Elton John & Kiki Dee - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (Remastered) [04:26]
16. Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word (Remastered) [03:50]
17. Little Jeannie (Remastered) [04:49]

CD2
01. Song For Guy (Remastered) [06:34]
02. Blue Eyes (Remastered) [03:28]
03. I'm Still Standing (Remastered) [03:04]
04. I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues (Remastered) [04:43]
05. Sad Songs (Say So Much) [Remastered] [04:48]
06. Nikita (Remastered) [05:44]
07. I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That (Remastered) [04:34]
08. Sacrifice (Remastered) [05:05]
09. Elton John & George Michael - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me [05:46]
10. Something About the Way You Look Tonight (Single Edit / Remastered) [04:00]
11. I Want Love (Remastered) [04:37]
12. Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Remastered) [04:01]
13. Are You Ready For Love? (Remastered) [03:32]
14. Electricity (Remastered) [03:31]
15. Home Again (Remastered) [05:02]
16. Looking Up (Remastered) [04:06]
17. Circle of Life (Remastered) [04:51]

CD3
01. Skyline Pigeon (Piano Version / Remastered) [03:54]
02. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (Remastered) [06:16]
03. Pinball Wizard (Remastered) [05:14]
04. Mama Can't Buy You Love (Remastered) [04:04]
05. Part-Time Love (Remastered) [03:13]
06. Victim of Love (Remastered) [03:22]
07. Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) [Remastered] [05:10]
08. Kiss the Bride (Remastered) [04:23]
09. Elton John & Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder - That's What Friends Are For [04:15]
10. The One (Remastered) [05:53]
11. Elton John & Kiki Dee - True Love (Remastered) [03:35]
12. Believe (Remastered) [04:52]
13. Elton John & Luciano Pavarotti - Live Like Horses (Remastered) [05:07]
14. Elton John & LeAnn Rimes - Written in the Stars [04:17]
15. This Train Don't Stop There Anymore (Remastered) [04:39]
16. Elton John & PNAU - Good Morning to the Night (Elton John vs. PNAU / Remastered) [03:24]
17. Step Into Christmas (Remastered) [04:29]