Truly Great Hits
Greatest Hits by Elton John
I behaved the entire time I went with my father on his sales call. Caught too late to arrange a babysitter and with my mother occupied at night school, my salesman father was going to have drag his nine year old on a sales call one evening.
"If you behave," he said, "I'll buy you a present."
I do not remember much of the sales call. The prospects he met that night were nice enough to let me watch television in their bedroom. Imagine, they had a second television in their bedroom. I sat on the floor, unwilling to mess their bed.
Driving home, my father stopped at a five and dime. "I'm very proud of you," he declared. "Go ahead and find yourself a toy."
I raced off to the toy aisle, but stopped short in front of a display of a record album with a man wearing funny glasses on the cover. The racks reached higher than I stood, but the man wearing a white suit and smiling a Cheshire grin as he sat in front of his piano beckoned to me. I had seen this man before on television. Just last week, while visiting a friend of the family we called Uncle Jerry, I watched his teenage daughter dance, sing and clap while the man played his piano and sang.
"They scream like we did for The Beatles," Uncle Jerry told my father, evoking amazement from me. I had no idea why Uncle Jerry had been scared of insects.
"I never screamed for them," replied my father. "I was already married with a kid."
That's telling 'im, Dad! Insects don't scare us, except maybe spiders, and then only when they're really big and hairy.
"I think that all the girls scream whenever he says love or something dumb like that," I ventured. That observation drew several knowing smiles and a suggestion to go play outside. The man with the funny glasses still sang on the television as I raced by, and now, a week later, here was a record of his.
My father sauntered down the aisle. "Go find a toy so we can get home," he said.
"I want that."
He must have been amazed, should have been surprised, but to his credit, my father reached up and plucked the album from the wire rack. "Do you know any of his music?"
"He sings on t.v. a lot."
My father nodded, carefully looked the album over and looked at me again. "If I buy you this, you have to play it on your record player, not my stereo. Is that a deal?"
"Yup," said my tiny voice that had no way of knowing then that my kid's plastic record player would not comfortably fit an album.
And so we purchased Elton John's Greatest Hits. I had never heard a complete Elton John song before then. Within a week, I knew every cut by name. I learned every lyric within the month. I became a record store hound, amassing the best collection in all of the fourth grade classes.
And I never used that record player again.
A Defining Rock Album
This is not a churn-and-burn greatest hits album. You may have one or two of those in your collection, three bona-fide hits, two or three interesting album cuts and some tracks the artist liked or on which still receives song royalties. The record industry was quick to exploit such artists, but Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin were prolific enough to release eight albums in four years between 1969 and 1973.
When Greatest Hits was released, John, Taupin and producer Gus Dudgeon had already assembled a top flight group of musicians. The band included mainstays Nigel Olsson on drums, Davey Johnstone (still touring with Elton) on guitar and bassist Dee Murray. Paul Buckmaster ably handled string arrangements. There was even a little muskrat love starting as keyboardist/arranger Darryl Dragon handled studio chores on the album, mixing Toni Tennille's backing vocals on Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me. They would break out on their own as hit artists a year later, known as The Captain and Tennille.
But the songs and John's interpretative playing and singing are what makes this album special. Like The Eagles' Greatest Hits, there is a song here to match every taste from contemplative to rollicking to lyrical ballads.
America responded to the burgeoning superstar's release. The RIAA certified the album gold four days after its release. It was later certified platinum as soon as that designation was made available and continues to sell well, three decades and 15 million copies later.
Why This Album Works
Because John released so many albums so quickly, fans were placed in the unenviable position of buying a new release twice a year. Those early albums were special, and virtually all delivered at least one monster hit. As John's fan base grew, Greatest Hits served as a marketer's dream: introduce the new fans to the hit catalog without forcing them to buy the entire backlist. Those fans would be the pre-sale orders for the next studio album to say nothing of filling Dodger Stadium and other huge venues.
Meanwhile, there are eight top ten hits on this album. Crocodile Rock and Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting appealed to the rock fan base while Your Song, Daniel and Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me bring in the ballad lovers. In between are Taupin's trippy light rock classics Rocket Man and Bennie and the Jets. Those are simply the big hits.
Few albums feature as many recognizable riffs and intros as Elton John's Greatest Hits. Johnstone's power chord frenzy at the beginning of Saturday Night. has kicked off more than one concert by John and the countless others (including The Who) who later covered the song. Even a simple A minor chord that John slams on his piano at the beginning of Bennie and the Jets brings a crowd to its feet. I saw that just a year ago.
Border Song, another beloved album cut covered by many and the often overlooked Honky Cat are also on the album, prompting one to wonder if one artist has enjoyed as much success in a variety of styles in such a short period.
The Bottom Line, Skips and All
This may be one of the few albums that belong in any rock fan's collection. Every song on the album would be the smash hit from any studio album released. While Elton John's current reputation is that of male diva, his versatility, showmanship and talent make him one of rock's most enduring acts. His personal life, stage antics and mellowing with age should not enter into your thought process regarding this album. I can not imagine an artist who became well known post 1970 who has influenced as many artists as Elton John.
If you do not own a copy today, you need to click one of the links here and buy it. If you already own a copy, thanks for reading. You already knew all of this. Except the part about the Captain and Tennille. Even I didn't know that.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. What is not to like - eight Top 10 hits on one album.
2. The album easily ranges from ballads to pop to rock.
3. Some of rock's best performances ever are captured here.
4. Artists as diverse as Kenny
Loggins, The Who and Eric Clapton all covered
hits from this album. That is reaching a broad fan base.
5. I still can't get over that Captain and Tennille thing.
