10+ Best Elton John Albums
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Best Elton John Albums: It’s difficult to choose Elton John’s single finest album. In the early 1970s, he worked like there’s no tomorrow, releasing ten albums in a span of over five years.
Those were his prime years, but he persevered and in turn, achieved several genuine creative comebacks in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
No wonder…
…if you ask the biggest classic music fans what their favorite Elton John album is, it would take them long to answer. Because you simply can’t just have one!
Today in this article, we’re going deep into the best Elton John album and the most interesting details behind its production!
Here we go…
#1. From The West Coast
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Artist: Elton John
Released: 1 October 2001
Label: Rocket; Mercury
Genre: Rock; pop-rock
Producer: Patrick Leonard
The first album on our list is “West Coast.” It is Elton’s twenty-sixth studio album. John Elton collaborated with Bernie Taupin for this album, and Patrik Leonard produced the song and played a few on the keyboard.
Now, we add in the lyrics of a song from this album named “Dark Diamond,”
Oh, I’m a dark diamond
I’ve turned hard and cold
Once was a jewel with fire in my soul
There are two sides of a mirror
One I couldn’t breakthrough
Stayed trapped on the inside, wound up losing you
Tell me, how does it work?
How do you make things fit?
Spent all my life trying to get it right
I’ve put it together, and it falls apart
I thought to myself I might understand
But when the wall’s built
And the heart hardens
You get a dark diamond
Dark diamond
Oh, I’m a dark diamond
But you’re something else
You read me more than I read myself
The one star I could count on
Only comet I could trust
You burnt through my life to the true meaning of love
Tell me, how does it work?
How do you make things fit?
Spent all my life trying to get it right
I’ve put it together, and it falls apart
I thought to myself I might understand
But when the wall’s built
And the heart hardens
You get a dark diamond
Dark diamond
Tell me, how does it work?
How do you make things fit?
Spent all my life trying to get it right
I’ve put it together, and it falls apart
I thought to myself I might understand
But when the wall’s built
Check out: West Coast
#2. Tumbleweed Connection
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Artist: Elton John
Release date: 30 October 1970
Studio: Trident, London
Label: Uni (US); DJM (UK)
Length: 46:56
Genre: Roots rock; Americana
“Tumbleweed Connection” is the third studio album by Elton John. The song was released in October 1970. The main concept behind this album is based on country and western/Americana themes.
Now, we add in the lyrics of a song from this album named “Ballad of a Well-Known Gun,”
I pulled out my stagecoach times and read the latest news
I tapped my feet in dumb surprise
And of course, I saw they knew
The Pinkertons they pulled out my bags
And asked me for my name
I stuttered out my answer
And hung my head in shame
Now they’ve found me
At last, they’ve found me
It’s hard to run
From a starving family
Now they’ve found me
I won’t run
I’m tired of hearing
There goes a well-known gun
Now I’ve seen this chain gang
Lord, I say let me see my priest
I couldn’t have faced your desert sand
Old burning brown-backed beast
Check out: Ballad of a well-known Gun
#3. Blue Moves
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Artist: Elton John
Release date: 22 October 1976
Label: The Rocket Record Company
Producer: Gus Dudgeon
Length: 84:40
Genres: Rock, Pop rock, Soft rock, Progressive rock
“Blue Moves” is the eleventh album by English singer Elton John. The album was a massive success, especially in the US where it peaked at number three in the charts.
The lyrics of the song “One Horse Town” from this album are:
Saw a Cadillac for the first time yesterday
I’d always seen horses, buggies, bales of hay
Because progress here don’t move with modern times
There’s nothing to steal
So there’s not a great deal of crime
It sure is hell living in a one-horse town
There’s half a mile of Alabama mud bed ground
Nothing much doing of an afternoon
Unless you’re sitting in a rocking chair just picking a tune
And they haven’t too well acquainted with the stars and stripes
But if you want to hear Susanna, then they’ll pick all night
They’ll pick all night
Because it’s no dice living in a one-horse town
Laid back, as my old coon hound
And I can’t wait to get out of this one-horse town
There’s nothing to steal because there’s simply nothing much around
Sure is hell living in this one-horse town
There’s half a mile of Alabama mud bed ground
And I can’t wait to grow out of this one-horse town
Check out: One Horse Town
#4. Honky Chateau
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The album “Honky Chateau” was a big smash in the United States and the United Kingdom. The album’s debut single was “Rocket Man.
” Rocket Man” reached No. 6 on the Billboard top forty charts in the United States.
“Honky Cat,” the album’s second song, reached No. 8 on the Billboard charts in the United States.
The lyrics of the song “Honky Cat” from this album are:
When I look back
Boy, I must have been green
Bopping in the country
Fishing in a stream
Looking for an answer
Trying to find a sign
Until I saw your city lights
Honey, I was blind
They said, get back, Honky Cat
Better get back to the woods
Well, I quit those days and my redneck ways
And mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, oh change is going to do me good
You better get back, Honky Cat
Living in the city ain’t where it’s at
It’s like trying to find gold in a silver mine
It’s like trying to drink whiskey
Oh, from a bottle of wine
Well, I read some books, and I read some magazines
Check out: Honky Cat
#5. 11-17-70
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If you’re planning to be an Elton John expert, then you must know this album.
“17-11-70” is a legendary album and one of the early ones by the American singer Elton John. It was released in April 1971.
The songs in this album are Take Me to the Pilot, Sixty Years on, Bad Side of the Moon, Honky Tonk Women, Can I Put You On, and Burn Down the Mission.
Now here’s the lyrics of the songs Take Me to the Pilot:
If you feel that it’s real, I’m on the trial
And I’m here, yeah, in your prison
Like a coin in your mint
I am dented, and I’m spent with high treason
Through a glass eye, your throne
Is the one danger zone
Take me to the pilot for control
Take me to the pilot of your soul
Take me to the pilot
Lead me through the chamber
Take me to the pilot
I am but a stranger
Take me to the pilot
Lead me through the chamber
Take me to the pilot
I am but a stranger
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na
Well, I know he’s not old
And I’m told, and I’m told he’s a virgin
Or he may be she
What I’m told is never, never for certain
Through a glass eye, your throne
Is the one danger zone
Take me to the pilot for control
Take me to the pilot of your soul, yeah, yeah
Take me to the pilot
Lead me through the chamber
Take me to the pilot
I am but a stranger
Take me to the pilot
Lead me through the chamber
Take me to the pilot
I am but a stranger
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na
Through a glass eye, your throne
Check out: Take me to the Pilot
#6. Caribou
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Artist: Elton John
Release date: 28 June 1974
Studio: Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado; Brother, Santa Monica, California; Trident, London
Label: MCA (US), DJM (UK)
Genre: Rock, pop
Length: 45:15
“Caribou” is the next album by Elton John, released in June 1974.
It has a rock-pop genre and some flashy tunes.
Let’s look at the lyrics of a song named “Bitch is Back.”
I was justified when I was five
Raisin’ Cain, I spit in your eye
Times are changin’ now the poor get fat
But the fever’s going to catch you when the bitch gets back, oh, oh, oh
Eat meat on a Friday, that’s all right
Even like steak on a Saturday night
I can bitch the best at your social do’s
I get high in the evening sniffing pots of glue, oh, oh, oh
I’m a bitch, and I’m a bitch oh, the bitch is back
Stone-cold sober, as a matter of fact
I can bitch, I can bitch because I’m better than you
It’s the way that I move, the things that I do, oh
I entertain by picking brains
Sell my soul by dropping names
I don’t like those! My God, what’s that!
Oh, it’s full of nasty habits when the bitch gets back.
I’m a bitch, and I’m a bitch oh, the bitch is back
Stone-cold sober, as a matter of fact
I can bitch, I can bitch because I’m better than you
It’s the way that I move, the things that I do, oh
I’m a bitch, and I’m a bitch oh, the bitch is back
Stone-cold sober, as a matter of fact
I can bitch, I can bitch because I’m better than you
It’s the way that I move, the things that I do, oh
Bitch, bitch, the bitch is back
Bitch, bitch, the bitch is back
Bitch, bitch, the bitch is back
Bitch, bitch, the bitch is back
Bitch, bitch, the bitch is back
Bitch, bitch, the bitch is back
Check out: Bitch is Back
#7. Don’t Shoot Me I am the Only Piano Player
Artist: Elton John
Release date: 22 January 1973
Label: MCA (US), DJM (UK)
Genre: Pop rock
Length: 42:45
Producer: Gus Dudgeon
“Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano player” is the sixth studio album by Elton John. It is the lead single in both the US and Canada.
Interesting fact:
The title of the album came from a friend named Groucho Marx. Yep, the man was surrounded by very creative team players!
Let’s see the lyrics of one of its tracks named “Daniel.”
Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
And I can see Daniel waving goodbye
Oh, it looks like Daniel must be the clouds in my eyes
They say Spain is pretty though I’ve never been
And Daniel says it’s the best place that he’s ever seen
He should know; he’s been there enough
Oh, I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much, oh
Daniel, my brother, you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal?
Your eyes have died, but you see more than I
Daniel, you’re a star in the face of the sky
Oh Daniel, my brother, you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal?
Your eyes have died, but you see more than I
Daniel, you’re a star in the face of the sky
Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane
And I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
And I can see Daniel waving goodbye
Oh, it looks like Daniel; it must be the clouds in my eyes
Oh God, it looks like Daniel must be the clouds in my eyes
Check out: Daniel
#8. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
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Artist: Elton John
Release date: 5 October 1973
Studio: Château d’Hérouville, Hérouville, France; remixed and overdubbed at Trident, London
Genre: Pop rock
Length: 76:20
Label: MCA (US), DJM (UK)
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is the seventh studio album by Elton John. It was released in October 1973, and it is considered one of the best-selling albums.
This album carries the song Candle in the Wind, which later became even more popular after he sang it for the late Princess Diana.
Here add the lyrics of “Candle in the Wind.”
Goodbye, Norma Jeane
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would’ve liked to know you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And the pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh, the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
Check out: Candle in the Wind
Conclusion: Best Elton John Albums
Did you have a glamorous time?
If not still, then you must definitely listen to these albums and tracks and just feel Elton’s glam spirit taking over you!
We hope you had a great time reading about the best songs and albums by Elton John.
If you want to read more about other authors, singers, actors, and musicians such as Jason Aldean, Ringo Starr, Paul Van Dyk, or just the richest rock stars in the world, check them all out on Bouncemojo.com!
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