Elton John - Empty sky

1969

Track Listing                                                                            

1. Empty sky                                     6. Sails                                  

2. Val-Hala                                        7. The scaffold

3. Western ford gateway                  8. Skyline pigeon                    

4. Hymn 2000                                   9. Gulliver/It's Hay chewed/reprise

5. Lady, what's tomorrow                                      

Band Members:        

Elton John - Vocals, organ, piano, harpsichord, electric piano      Don Flay - Flute, tenor saxophone   

Tony Murray - Bass                    Nigel Olsson - Drums               Roger Pope - Drums, percussion    

Caleb Quaye - Guitars, congas     Graham Vickery - Harmonica    Produced By:  Steve Brown

Notes

This is where it all started for Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin.  Originally released in 1969 it was not released in the United States until 1975, well after he had made his fame.  The album is not very popular and is one of his weaker performances.  The track "Skyline pigeon" may be the most popular track from this album.  Most likely due to his prior success in the U.S., this album peaked at number 6 on the Billboard charts.

Recommendations

Unless if you are a die-hard music collector or Elton John fan, I would pass on this. 

If you plan on purchasing Empty sky

I would recommend getting the 1996 remastered version.  This version also include 4 bonus tracks, one of them being "Lady Samantha", one of his first singles.  Most of the Elton John catalog has been remastered and it sounds great and includes bonus tracks.  I would stay away from the overly priced imports and stick with this version.  You will be able to purchase it on-line at Cdnow.com.

If you don't plan on purchasing Empty sky but want to hear some tracks from it

This one is not loaded with great material.  I prefer the more heavier sounding tracks like "Empty sky" and "Gulliver/It's Hay Chewed/Reprise".  The bonus tracks may even be a bit better than the album tracks.  All of these can be purchased at either Itunes or Napster.  For more suggestions you can view my ideal compilation at my Elton John Home Page.

My Top 5