Album Review: Elton John – ‘Rocket Man – Number Ones’

By Jeff Swindoll Apr 13, 2007, 17:17 GMT

Elton John turned the big 6-0 in March (that’s 60 years of age if you don’t know) and this album was released to coincide with that momentous event.  Being a fan of Sir Elton, I already had all of the tunes that find their way onto this compilation. 

The first twelve tracks are a collection of his “number ones.”  However, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” only made it to no. 2 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.  The album ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ did make it to no. 1 on the Billboard album chart.  The liner notes are particularly sparse so you don’t really get an explanation as to what “number ones” means exactly. 

I guess I’m being picky.  You’ll find a lot of his hit there though, like “Bennie and the Jets,” “Daniel,” “Crocodile Rock,” and others.  The last five tracks are included under the “and other favorites” section.  What surprised me was that “Rocket Man” was not a number one hit (it made it to no. 6 on U.S. pop charts).  Strange since it’s one of his signature songs.  Whatever the case, this section contains it, “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Candle in the Wind,” and “Saturday Night’s Alright (for fighting).” 

This CD was made for the casual fan of Elton John since the die-hard ones will already have all the albums that those songs came from in the first place.  A more expensive collector’s edition has a DVD component (I wasn’t sent that one for review) that die-hards will want to seek out. 

For those of you just discovering Elton John or just want a collection of his most popular songs might want to get this one. 

‘Rocket Man – Number Ones’ is now available at Amazon. Visit the music database for more information.