The lofty career of Elton John has been a remarkable and rare trajectory that not many individuals can share. Over his career, there are several phases of popularity along with a massive catalog of 31 studio albums. While he began to capture strong attention with his magnificent Madman Across The Water, it was his fifth set, Honky Château that elevated him even further. On that album were two hit singles, “Rocket Man”, and “Honky Cat”. Like myself, many consider Honky Château to be possibly Elton John‘s best work in one place.
On March 24, Honky Château will celebrate its 50th Anniversary (although it was actually released in 1972) with remastered and expanded 2CD and 2LP sets. The added tracks will be 9 session demos and a set of 8 live performance tracks from his February 5, 1972 show at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
The 50th Anniversary of Honky Château will be celebrated with 2CD. 2LP, DD, and Limited Edition Gold color vinyl 1LP sets. Pre-orders are up at Amazon as well as more varied bundles at EJ’s website store (here).
Honky Château (50th Anniversary) – Elton John
CD1
01 Honky Cat
02 Mellow
03 I Think I’m Going to Kill Myself
04 Susie (Dramas)
05 Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time)
06 Salvation
07 Slave
08 Amy
09 Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
10 Hercules
Honky At The Château (Sessions Demos) Part One
11 Salvation
12 Susie (Dramas)
13 Rocket Man (It’s Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time)
14 Mellow
15 Slave – Alternate “Fast” Version
CD2
Honky At The Château (Sessions Demos) Part Two
01 Honky Cat
02 I Think I’m Going To Kill Myself
03 Hercules
04 Slave
Live at The Royal Festival Hall – London – February 5, 1972
05 Susie (Dramas)
06 Salvation
07 Mellow
08 Amy
09 Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
10 Honky Cat
11 Rocket Man (It’s Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time
12 Hercules
Hopefully the rumored “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player” set for later this year is a bit more expansive than this is. The demos and live tracks on this HC 50th are interesting but seems a bit light. Especially without a Blu-Ray including the surround sound or Dolby Atmos version. The Atmos version is available on Apple Music but a physical copy would have been nice.
Being my favorite EJ album, I cannot agree with you more. I was hoping for a massive box. Got little. But hey, it’s something.