Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - 2014 European Mercury Label 17-track 2LP Set Reissue

Originally released at the end of 1973, the double album ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ was the crowning moment of an upward trajectory that had marked the unstoppable rise of Elton John – from the first hit ‘Your Song’ through a sequence of increasingly confident artistic and commercial successes. Following the chart-topping album ‘Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player’ from earlier in 1973, the stage was well and truly set for a new album and it would be one that simply exploded globally and would go on to sell in excess of 31 million copies worldwide.

With Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin’s partnership firing on all cylinders and a band lean and primed, ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ soared to the top of the charts in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada and gave the music world the global hits ‘Candle In The Wind’, ‘Bennie & The Jets’, ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’, and the soaring title track. In the USA it lodged at Number 1 for eight weeks and was 1974’s biggest-selling album.

Slant reviewer  Garin Pirnia wrote that Goodbye Yellow Brick Road "... displayed the singer’s talent for crafting infectious pop/rock ditties that evoked a diverse span of genres ranging from mellow piano music to full-out rock n’ roll." and calls the album an "epic,varied display of emotional depth and soul." The album features the singles "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Bennie and the Jets" and "Candle in the Wind"

But ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ was about more than hit singles and it’s no exaggeration to say any one of its seventeen tracks could have been plucked as singles. Consistently breath-taking, the record moves effortlessly from vibrant rockers to delicate ballads, R&B grooves, good time rock ‘n’ roll and prog stylings… and there’s even a nod to reggae!

Remastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering from the original analog tapes - mastered for vinyl by Doug Sax & Robert Hadley at The Mastering Lab, Inc, Ojai, CA -pressed onto 180 gram Audiophile Quality Vinyl - Includes Download Card - presented in a three panel foldout picture cover... displayingthe original 1973 album artwork

Tracklisting:

Side 1.
1. Funeral For A Friend [Love Lies Bleeding]   
2. Candle In The Wind   
3. Bennie And The Jets   

Side 2.
4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road   
5. This Song Has No Title   
6. Grey Seal   
7. Jamaica Jerk-off   
8. I've Seen That Movie Too   

Side 3.
9. Sweet Painted Lady   
10. The Ballad Of Danny Bailey [1909 - 34]   
11. Dirty Little Girl   
12. All The Girls Love Alice   

Side 4.
13. Your Sister Can't Twist [But She Can Rock 'n' Roll]   
14. Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting   
15. Roy Rogers   
16. Social Disease   
17. Harmony   

All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Recorded May 1973 using a 16 track tape recorder at Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville and at Strawberry Studios, France
Remixed and overdubbed at Trident, London
Lacquer Cutting and mastering at The Mastering Lab
Pressed by GZ Media, Tovární 340, 267 12 Loděnice, Czech Republic

Credits:

Elton John – vocals, acoustic piano (1–6, 8–10, 12–17), Fender Rhodes (5, 6), Farfisa organ (3, 5, 7, 13), mellotron (5, 6, 11)
David Hentschel – ARP synthesizer (1, 12)
Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Leslie guitar, slide guitar, steel guitar, banjo, backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 10, 13, 17)
Dee Murray – bass guitar, backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 10, 13, 17)
Nigel Olsson – drums, congas, tambourine, backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 10, 13, 17), car effects (12)
Ray Cooper – tambourine (12)
Del Newman – orchestral arrangements (4, 8–10, 15, 17)
David Katz – orchestra contractor (4, 8–10, 15, 17)
Leroy Gómez – saxophone solo (16)
Kiki Dee – backing vocals (12)
Uncredited – Vocal interjections on "Jamaica Jerk-Off" (credited to Prince Rhino, Reggae Dwight and Toots Taupin, possibly a pseudonym for Elton John and Bernie Taupin, though this is uncertain), drum machine, maracas, timbales, claves on "Jamaica Jerk-Off", castanets on "Funeral for a Friend", shaker on "I've Seen That Movie Too", tambourine on "Social Disease", accordion, vibraphone on "Sweet Painted Lady"

Technical Credits:
Gus Dudgeon – production
David Hentschel – engineer
Peter Kelsey, Andy Scott – assistant engineer
Barry Sage – tape operator
Del Newman - Orchestral Arrangement
Doug Sax, Robert Hadley - Lacquer Cutting, Mastering
Bob Ludwig - Remastering

Artwork:
David Larkham, Michael Ross – art direction, artwork
Ian Beck – artwork
John Tobler – liner notes