| | Elton John Empty Sky CD Elton John Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
This is part of Rocket's Elton John: The Classic Years series. Not released in the U.S. until 1975, after he'd achieved superstardom, Elton John's first album is as much a part of late-'60s blues-rock and the burgeoning singer-songwriter ... Full Descriptionmovement as it is part of the grandiose pop catalog that would soon follow. The eight-minute-plus title song includes a long flute-harmonica-piano jam that wouldn't have been out of place on a Traffic album; the closing "Gulliver/It's Hay Chewed/Reprise" connects a waltz-time requiem with an acoustic-jazz instrumental and (rather audiciously for an unknown singer's debut) a reprise of bits from every song on the album.
Elsewhere, one can find a Lennonesque melody on "Western Ford Gateway," a breezy Summer-Of-Love feel on "Hymn 2000," and recurring imagery of a caged bird dreaming of flying away--most notably in the title song and the harsichord-and-organ tune "Skyline Pigeon." It all bursts with pop-rock melodicism, even when John was adding music to some of collaborator Bernie Taupin's most opaque, image-heavy lyrics. John would later call EMPTY SKY a "naive" record, but it contains the seeds of almost everything he would eventually do.
The 1996 reissue of EMPTY SKY includes four songs that were issued as two singles prior to the album's release: "Lady Samantha"/"All Across The Havens" and "It's Me That You Need"/"Just Like Strange Rain." The album has been digitally remastered by Gus Dudgeon, using original master tapes and digital processing equipment at 20-bit resolution. According to Dudgeon (ICE newsletter, January 1996), the results are "100% better" than the two previous American CD issues.
Recorded at Dick James Studios and Olympic Studios, London, England. Includes liner notes by John Tobler and Gus Dudgeon.
Personnel: Elton John (vocals, piano, organ, electric piano, harpsichord); Caleb Quaye (electric & acoustic guitars, congas); Graham Vickery (harmonica); Don Fay (tenor saxophone, flute); Tony Murray (bass); Roger Pope (drums, percussion); Nigel Olsson (drums).
Hide Description Empty Sky Music | List Price | $9.92 (You save $3.53) | | Category | Rock Albums, Pop CDs, Rock/Pop, Singer/Songwriter | | Label | Rocket | | Orig Year | 1969 | | All Time Sales Rank |  6912  | | CD Universe Part number | 1231617 | | Catalog number | 528157 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Feb 20, 1996 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Producer | Steve Brown | | Engineer | Frank Owen | | Recording Time | 55 minutes | | Personnel | Elton John - vocals, piano, organ, electric piano, harpsichord
Nigel Olsson - drums
Caleb Quaye - electric & acoustic guitars, congas
Roger Pope - drums, percussion
Tony Murray - bass
Don Fay - tenor saxophone, flute
Graham Vickery - harmonica
| | Additional Info | Remastered |
Elton John Empty Sky Songs Empty Sky Music Review Average Rating: (3.7 out of 5 stars)   It's A KEEPER
Elton had a handle on how to move a persons spirit to places they couldn't get to on earth with out him.brown dirt cowboy, yellow brick road , almost everything he wrote was golden this little jewel is no exception.
Submitted by penciltalk (Shannon City, IA,USA) 
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 Not Exactly An Empty Landscape
Elton John's debut album (not released stateside until January 1975) was a compelling mixture of influences ranging from the Rolling Stones to Leonard Cohen to the Band. From the hard-rocking title track to the closing reprise of the entire tunestack, "Empty Sky" is definitely worth a listen. EJ was basically finding his feet with this disc, but it is a potent precursor to his subsequent successful offerings. I definitely recommend this album as it is far better than anything Elton released after "Rock of the Westies".
Submitted by Will-T (Lawrenceburg IN)
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A must have for any fan!
I was sceptical at first as to the value of Elton John's debut album, but upon hearing it, you can't help but love it, especially with such great tracks as Empty Sky, Western Ford Gateway, and Skyline Pigeon.
Submitted by Hayden (Dunedin, New Zealand)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No | Have you heard this album? |  |
Purchase Empty Sky CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Elton John Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player CD (1973) Remastered
Empty Sky album
 $6.09   
DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER was the first of two 1973 albums that sealed Elton John's superstardom. It included his first U.S. #1 single, the nostalgic "Crocodile Rock," along with one of his most enduring ballads, "Daniel," a veiled salute to a Vietnam vet. By now, John was at ease in almost any musical setting. While lyricist Bernie Taupin continued to feed him the usual mix of road songs, homages to the American West, and offbeat love ballads, John was flying ahead with an ambitious, try-anything agenda that effectively blurred the lines between AM pop and FM rock.
"Crocodile Rock"'s whimsicality, with its vintage Farfisa organ, and "Daniel," a seductive studio concoction of keyboards and acoustic guitar, leaned toward the former. "Elderberry Wine" approached ...
| | Elton John Tumbleweed Connection CD (1971) Remastered
Empty Sky CD music
$6.15  
Recorded in the charmed period between the initial success of ELTON JOHN and superstar extravaganzas like GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD, TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION, a loose concept album about the American West, was a strange, sideways move for Elton John and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. A album in the traditional sense, it is best heard as a piece, with songs that pick up and expand on each other's moods and settings. Notice, for example, the progression of characters from the young fighter waving "My Father's Gun," to the retired and forgotten "Talking Old Soldiers," to the protagonist of "Where To Now St. Peter?," shot down by "a sweet young foreign gun" and ready to be judged by his maker.
The mood holds from the sepia-toned LP cover art to John's songwriting, influenced by folk and country music and by The Band's MUSIC FROM BIG PINK. Among the songs it introduced were "Country Comfort," which Rod Stewart covered on GASOLINE ALLEY, and "Come Down In Time," later done by both Judy Collins and Sting. Though the rollicking piano epic "Burn Down The Mission" and "Amoreena" became FM-radio and concert staples, TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION remains the only John studio album without a hit single, a fact that doesn't affect the impact of this excellent country-rock outing.
Recording information: Trident Studios, ...
| | Elton John CD (1970) Remastered
Empty Sky music CDs
$6.39
Elton John's second album was his first to be released in the U.S., and the difference between it and its predecessor, EMPTY SKY, is palpable and immediate. ELTON JOHN opens with "Your Song," a halting ballad that is one of the most moving love songs in the modern pop canon. The album also marks John's fruitful association with Gus Dudgeon and arranger Paul Buckmaster (who'd previously collaborated on David Bowie's "Space Oddity"). The team came up with a spare orchestral sound that surrounds the singer and his piano with dashes of both classical and rock guitar, synthesizers, carefully arranged drums, and searing strings.
This wasn't all-out pop yet, but rather a striking and singular brand of folk-rock. "Take Me To The Pilot" shows flashes of John's rocking future ("Bennie And The Jets" descended from it), "No Shoe Strings On Louise" is Rolling Stonesy country-rock, and "Sixty Years On" is haunting and memorable. More typical for this session is "I Need You To Turn To," another love song that finds lyricist Bernie Taupin in an unusually direct mode, and features a ...
| | Elton John 11-17-70 CD (1971) Remastered
Empty Sky songs
$6.39
Digitally remastered by Tony Cousins (Metropolis Mastering, London, England).
Recorded live on WABC-FM, 11-17-70 would become the fourth of John's records to simultaneously land in the Top 10, making him the first act to do so since The Beatles. Drawing mostly from his self-titled second album, John's set included a sweeping "Sixty Years On," a gospel-soaked reading of "Take Me To The Pilot" and a funked-up "Honky Tonk Women." Dee Murray and Nigel Olson's background vocals and solid rhythmic support on songs such as "Bad Side Of The Moon" and "Can I Put You On" made this a particularly potent trio that would set the stage for such groups as Ben Folds Five 25 years later. The centerpiece ...
| | Elton John Rock Of The Westies CD (1975) Remastered
Empty Sky album
$6.09
Digitally remastered by Tony Cousins (Metropolis Mastering, London, England).
When Elton John went into the studio to record ROCK OF THE WESTIES, he did it with a revamped line-up. Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper stayed on while Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson were replaced by Kenny Passarelli and Roger Pope respectively. Also added to the band were old mate Caleb Quaye and synthesizer player James Newton Howard, whose keyboard talents combined with John's and considerably broadened the unit's sound. WESTIES found EJ sounding revitalized after scoring seven consecutive top five hits in the preceding two years (The tropical-flavored "Island Girl" kept the streak alive by ending up at number one).
With the Bernie Taupin/Elton John juggernaut creating up-tempo numbers such as "Grow Some Funk ...
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