Elton John - Greatest Hits 1970-2002 Limited Edtion+

I was one of those teenagers who grew up on New Wave and Metal. To me, Elton John was a Top 40 artist made famous by hits like "I'm Still Standing" and "Sad Songs (say so much)". I didn't know much about his earlier works and, like so many of my generation, heaped scorn upon anything that smacked of the `70s. Well, fast forward to 2003 and I'd lost touch with Elton for more than 10 years. I popped Disc 2 into the player and listened to the hit tracks from my youth first. Sure, I could recognize his singles from a few Disney movies; but other than that, about two thirds of the tracks on Elton John: Greatest Hits 1970 - 2002 sounded only vaguely familiar. Shame on me! After listening to the rest of the album, reading the liner notes and talking to other music fans I have found a true appreciation of this artist who managed to create memorable hits spanning three decades - without becoming a trend clone like so many other long-lived pop stars. Elton sings insightfully about universal ups and downs, in life and in love. His music is heavy on the piano, had hints of big band style a times, synthesizer at others, but was always recognizable as rock'n'roll. Perhaps it takes time for the real artists to show up against the backdrop of forgettable stylings; but EJ stayed a class act all around and deserved every bit of his commercial successes and more. Most of what I know now about EJ's remarkable career came from the pull-out booklet tucked inside the 2 disc album. Paul Gambaccini wrote an interesting mini biography on Elton and his writer, Bernie Taupin. Apparently a lot of credit for EJ's consistency over the years goes to Bernie's talent for writing lyrics that reflect the inner workings of his personal life. The two are a magical combination of geniuses, the results of which are many much-loved ballads and anthems. It was a pleasure to look over the selection of photos from each decade and the gallery of album covers. I made a mental note to put a few of them in my shopping cart later. Of course 34 songs can't definitively represent the body of work that Elton and Bernie have produced for a total of 41 albums. I can only wonder at the overblown expectations that some true fans must have had prior to the release of this album; realize, fellow music lovers, that this offering of greatest hits was never meant to appeal to those knowledgeable disciples of EJ, but to be a short survey for the ignorant such as myself. It worked! I have been successfully lured into finding more music by this sensational artist. If some of the tracks have been slightly altered (i.e. fade outs at the end of some tracks), I wouldn't know to be disappointed, but I will find out later when I hear the originals. If better selections are missing here, I will discover them on my personal musical journey. In this way, many converts are won to good music. This is a collection well worth its price to music fans like me who so badly need to expand their musical horizons. Go ahead - you will enjoy yourself. You may even learn a thing or two. -Andrea, aka Merribelle

You won't be disappointed. It's a great Elton John CD...all my favs!

More than thirty years ago I was walking down Doheny Boulevard in LA, made a try for Sunset and ended up walking into the Troubador where they were featuring a virtually unknown UK singer pianist named Elton John. He was surprisingly taut and sculptured then and he had the round rimmed rawhide colored glasses on. Man when I heard him sing Your Song, one of his signature tunes since then and on this cd, I couldn't get over the unique and positively brilliant aspect of his compositions. I had no knowledge at the time of his writing partnership with Bernie Taupin and ofcourse no possible ability to forecast Elton's sheer dominance of the music business nor his eventual outrageousness on stage, fights and controversies and uncomprable density of near perfect work. I just know now what I could not have known back on that LA walk I had in a warm pulsating and euphoric drizzle-rain-Sir Elton is and was always either the best or near there when it comes to emotionally stirring music and enviable musicianship. On this cd, Elton John Greatest Hits 1970-2002 there are two other memorable selections that I have always found to be touching and introspective, Tiny Dancer and Levon. Taupin's lyrics are very UK and Elton's piano and vocals just make these two entries the types of songs that you never get tired of because they bring out the nostalgia and warmth that all comes within you when you listen to special music. I purchased this cd because at its price point it represented a great value, it never hurts to get the best for less when it comes to buying any media. Don't forget I am one of those cd reviewers who seems to remember the entire career spans of all the artists still touring because at my age, I was there when they started. Based on my appreciable longevity in critiquing music, this cd is one that you must get at the risk of compromising in quality any personal music collection where, for some, reason it is missing. Jay Adler CD Reviewer Massapequa, New York

Amazing CD

I like that it is pretty much ALL hits - ALL very enjoyable to listen to. Of all the about 40 songs - only 4 or 5 were not major hits. I had a Great - Very enjoyable time listening to all 3 discs in the package. The quality of the sound is also excellent.

Great listen. Great songs.

If you're younger and weren't around during Elton John's emergence and peak creative streak in the 70's and are just discovering the brilliance of the work that he and Bernie Taupin (and his amazing band) brought to life, then this is a good starting point for you. If you are longtime fan who just wants a collection of most of his career-spanning hits and don't always have the time to go through every album, then this is also a great collection to have. The remastering sounds great and most of the hits are on here with the exception of fan faves like "Skyline Pigeon", "Harmony" and other stellar album tracks which may not have been released as singles, but were definitely loved in their time and beyond! But as is the case with all great artists' whose careers span decades and who've enjoyed such a high level of artistic creative achievement for so long, it seems almost impossible to create an all-encompassing compilation which will satisfy every fans taste! However, this one is very pleasing with the exceptions of the ones I mentioned above and maybe a few more! Still worth buying. (-: I also like that they put a few of the songs from Elton's "iffy" early 80's period when his music had kind of fell from grace and he was himself swirling in the storms of addiction and indentity issues. Then, in the mid 80's he enjoyed a return to form, the top of the charts, and began to conquer his demons head on! By the early 90's, he and Bernie Taupin had separated for awhile, then gotten back together to write sporadically, but Elton was expanding his collaborations into broadway and film scoring, working with the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and others, coming into another fertile period creatively that has sustained his legend into the 21st Century! If you're not familiar with the 70's albums, perhaps this compilation will inspire you to go back and discover what made Elton John one of modern music's immortals!

This collection contains 34 of Sir Elton John's greatest hits over 32 years. It sure does take you back, doesn't it? This collection doesn't contain but a couple of pieces of fodder - almost everyone of the 34 pieces is truly an original masterpiece that was a best seller and recognized as great. If you listen closely, you can hear a slight difference in his singing from his younger years to "middle age", nevertheless, it's great. His songs are generally unique one to the next, unlike many musicians who simply repeat success. You needn't worry yourself over that. As with all MP3 downloads, it's so easy to download, listen, transport ... The price is a bit more than most Greatest Hits "albums" but, the price per song is the same, as the # of hits is greater (and, in this, it's almost all super hits). I'd love to see one comprehensive collection up through a given year. HA! This is an excellent Christmas gift for folks who've lived through the same time as he has. It's interesting music for music theory classes. I give everything a grade, and, this collection is truly worthy of an "A+".

Muy buena compilación de éxitos, trae practicamente todo lo conocido de Elton John, muy complacido con el producto

ヒットした曲がたくさん入っていて、ベストアルバムだと思います。当時のことを思います。

A Great 2 CD value purchase, with a bonus disc of 9 songs I can't recall hearing before, but worth listening to. You forget how versatile Elton's voice is, a great musician and entertainer. I am very pleased with this song book. It would of course be helpful if the sellers mentioned what tracks are on the different discs before you buy, I would probably buy more if this was the case.

Timeless collection item, Elton John live at Madison Square gave breathtaking performance of his lifetime. Songs list- 'Candle in the wind', The One, Blue eyes, Funeral for a friend, Can you feel the love tonight, Sacrifice, Circle of life and more can move, inspire and uplift ones soul. Thanks Amazon for a great collection at a great price @ Rs.540/-

Love The CD. Brilliant And Wonderfull Music. Thanks.