Episodes
Saturday Oct 31, 2020
Episode 38 - Tumbleweed Connection Covered
Saturday Oct 31, 2020
Saturday Oct 31, 2020
It's all go in Eltonland! The label have marked the 50th anniversary of Tumbleweed with a reissue of the album on green vinyl, plus an entirely unexpected companion 10" single, featuring the unearthed almost 8 minute long original version of Come Down in Time, backed with a full band DJM demo of Ballad of a Well Known Gun. Everything is available, along with a range of Tumbleweed merch, over at the EltonJohn.com shop, and John Higgins' fascinating anniversary article about Tumbleweed can also be found there now. Since the album is often felt to be the musician's Elton John album, I thought it would be interesting to go through some of the cover versions of these songs, and to make up my own playlist of my favourite covers. You may have very different choices - please let me know on the Facebook group or by email if I haven't picked or played your favourites. I'll be back with a fuller breakdown of Tumbleweed at some point in the future. If you want to listen to the YouTube playlist without me bleating all over the songs, it can be found here. |
Saturday Feb 01, 2020
Episode 34 - Fantasy Residency and More Songs They Gave Away
Saturday Feb 01, 2020
Saturday Feb 01, 2020
In this episode I apologise for my absence; make some excuses; review the autobiography, in a limited sense; talk about the way that the book, the film and reality interact in one case; accept that I was wrong in another; mentally stage a residency, made up of Elton's deep cuts; all before the main event, which is a follow up to episode 14 - The Songs They Gave Away. In that sense, it's a bit of a grab-bag. Prepare for the familiar to sound very different, in the hands of other artists, and also for some songs that (I hope) you won't have heard before. |
Sunday Mar 04, 2018
Episode 14 - The Songs They Gave Away
Sunday Mar 04, 2018
Sunday Mar 04, 2018
Elton wrote a lot of incredible music over the years, in fact, more than he needed at some points of his career. This is the story of the songs that Elton gave away, either by design, or by default. Two of Elton's demos are featured - both of them are significant upgrades in terms of sound quality over what generally circulates. |
Saturday Nov 18, 2017
Episode 6 - Cool As Christmas - Collaborations That Make Elton Cooler
Saturday Nov 18, 2017
Saturday Nov 18, 2017
Elton's not always seen as a particularly cool musician to be a fan of. Lots of well-respected artists have no problem associating themselves with him though. In this episode, I go through those collaborations and connections, and pick out the ones, some more obscure than others, which, I feel, elevate Elton's position as an innovative creative force. |