Elton John - Honky Chateau CD

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 Classic Elton
If you're a big Elton fan and love his music, you'll love this one. It's got all the forgotten B sides that to me, are as good if not better then the hit's played on the radio. It's a must have.
Submitted by ggiresi (Scotch Plains, NJ, USA) 
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 Ohhhh, yeah.... The True "King Of Pop" (forget that dude MJ)
Elton John was simply a powerful melody-maker, with his trusty piano doing exactly what he wants it to do. And here, Sir John spins through several songs that seem to have no point to them, but in reality they come together to create a sound experience that was virtually missed. This sounds like the people in Elton's Band came right out of the Midwest and other rural places and placed all of those influences onto one record. The result is striking, melodic, and powerful. And, of course, Bernie Taupin's lyrics perfectly complement the atmosphere. Overall, this album takes you down a dream version of memory-lane, and since it is pop, it is acceptable by the public, which means nobody will balk when something usually unheard of (think the song "Slave") comes out of the record. That was part of the beauty of Elton's earlier records: they could subtly bring out things that were unexpected, but would become acceptable. As Elton's career progressed, this element to his albums slowly started to disappear. But here, we can hear it all over again.
Submitted by Galen (Anchorage, AK, USA)
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 FIRST SPANISH GOLD DISC IN 1972
I REMEMBER 25.000 RECORDS SALES IN 1972 INCREDIBLE SUCCESS IN SPAIN.HARD TIMES FOR US WITH THE DICTATOR.ELTON BREAKS BORDERS ROCKET MAN N.1 IN SINGLES.THE TIMES THEY ARE CHANGIN. SEE YOU ¡CHAMPION!
Submitted by kiuck (barcelona,spain)
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 Classic
A classic! " My Dad told me Amy's your name." "A Cat called Hercules"And one of the greatest songs of all time! "And I think its gonna be a long long time"
Submitted by JohnEBGood (JerseyShore, USA) 
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 Excellent
This is more like it. This one blew me away and would be the one I recommended for first purchase. At last the whole ambiance of the SACD sounds right – the piano mostly right in the mix, great vocals and a wonderful drum & bass sound throughout. I’ve come to the conclusion with these new Elton SACDs that it’s a good thing that they sound different – who’d want the same mix, right? If you want good strong piano, stick with Gus Dudgeon, but if you want to hear the other instruments and experience some true surprises, turn to the SACD “Honky Cat” has the second, electric, piano in the rear and has a clear and balanced mix. You can hear more of EJ’s vocal interjections. “Mellow” sounds less “warm” due to a great separation of electric guitars in the rear and separated EJ’s vocals. The organ is downmixed while more could have been done IMO with the violin solo (I would have liked some swirling around the surround image). “Kill Myself” is the best track yet. This used to be a “skipper” for me (hey, I’ve had the album for over 30 years), but this mix sounds great. At least 4 EJ vocals are spread around the surround image. A nice touch with the tap dance/claps is that they appear to dance around the room as they move from speaker to speaker. “Susie Dramas” has a fantastic drum sound with more reverb on the vocals. Piano could have been stronger, but the guitar solo is great. I never tire of hearing “Rocket Man”, that beautiful, clear vocal is high in the mix and the acoustic guitars have never sounded better. I would have liked some speaker switching on the outro. “Salvation” has a more obvious organ and clear guitars in the rear. “Slave” has a good separation of at least 4 guitar tracks and sounds wonderful. “Amy” sounds meaty thanks to the strong drum and bass presence. More could have been made of the violin solo, but at least there’s a bit more left in the mix. Stereo congas in the rear are nice and EJ’s vocals front and rear on the final chorus are brilliant. “Mona Lisas” has a perfect mix for the song. A fine 4-way split of EJ’s vocals and loads of mandolins spread in the surround image. “Hercules” is still a strong ending with great stereo guitar and extra reverb on the vocals. Backing vocals are longer but missing the deeper “Bud habas” (you have to listen to it to see what I mean!). There’s a completely different mix of the guitar solo. I was hoping for a longer outro, but obviously this wasn’t possible. Shame. “Slave” (alternative) – this is fantastic. I never used to care for the frantic speed, but the Penny mix is outstanding and worth the price of the SACD alone. You can really hear EJ cut loose on the piano, which is right in the front of the mix (where it should always be IMO). First class and breathtaking.
Submitted by Klark (Europe)
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