Elton John Shares Excitement for Upcoming Album

and 1986’s Leather Jackets. But! I also discovered that once you got past the singles, there were still some great songs on a lot of the other ones. I have a soft spot for “Grow Some Funk Of Your Own” from Rock of the Westies (1975) and “I Fall Apart” from I’m Still Standing (1983). They may not be the most original songs, but they’re solid and full of great Elton vocals. 

Even as the ‘80s turned into the ‘90s, I kept buying and enjoying his albums. 1989’s Sleeping with the Past and 1992’s The One weren’t The Beatles or Led Zeppelin, but they were solid records with some truly great songs. Even when the albums weren’t great, they had a moment or two of self-awareness: “You can’t go back and if you try it fails,” he sang on 1983’s “I’m Still Standing,” suggesting that he knew he wasn’t as big a deal as he used to be. In 1996, he made a comeback to pop radio with a version of “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” with George Michael, a song he had recorded years earlier with George on backing vocals. 

I think that part of why I like that song, and how George was brought into the mix, is that they were both singers who had had mega-success in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Are there other singers from that era who could have a big radio hit with an almost note-for-note new recording of a hit they’d had years earlier? Perhaps, but very few were as successful as George and Elton in their prime. That version was a bridging of two kinds of fanbases, reminding baby boomers of the younger versions of the singers, and introducing both to new generations. 

This new record would be a big project for both artists – not just because they’d be working with each other, but because they’re both working with new people. Elton has a long and successful history with producer Greg Kurstin, but Brandi has not worked with Kurstin in the past. That’s surprisingly – and pleasantly – unusual in the music industry. I can’t wait to hear what they come up with. The best albums are those that take us to places we haven’t been yet; luckily, Elton John has signaled that’s what he’s after.