Elton John Blue Moves

By 1976, the immense creativity that had spurred Elton John to record 11 studio albums in under seven years was beginning to show signs of inevitable fatigue. Although initially Blue Moves was summarily dismissed by both critics as well as longtime enthusiasts, the double LP has since gained considerable stature within John's voluminous catalog. While comparisons were inevitable to the landmark two-disc Goodbye Yellow Brick Road song cycle from 1973, most similarities in musical style and content end there.

The immense creativity that had spurred Elton John to realize no less than 11 studio albums in under seven years was beginning to show signs of inevitable fatigue. The same can be said as well of the artist's unfathomable physical stamina, which had included practically nonstop touring around the globe since the early '70s. Although initially Blue Moves (1976) was summarily dismissed by both critics as well as longtime enthusiasts, the double LP has since gained considerable stature within John's voluminous catalog…

The Union is a collaboration studio album by singer-songwriters Elton John and Leon Russell, released on 19 October 2010 in the US and on 25 October in the UK. This is the 30th studio album by John and the 34th by Russell. This is the first studio release by John since 1979's Victim of Love without any of his regular band members. It is also his highest charting studio album on the Billboard 200 since 1976's Blue Moves, debuting at No. 3, as well as Russell's highest charting studio album since 1972's Carney. The Union was No. 3 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010.

Less than four months after issuing the landmark and autobiographical Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Elton John re-emerged with a new band and a slightly modified sound. However, the departure of bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson began a deceleration in terms of John's success, which rivalled only the Beatles' and Elvis Presley's in terms of global acclaim…

Less than four months after issuing the landmark and autobiographical Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Elton John re-emerged with a new band and a slightly modified sound. However, the departure of bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson began a deceleration in terms of John's success, which rivalled only the Beatles' and Elvis Presley's in terms of global acclaim. The revamped band grew to include new associates James Newton Howard on keyboards and Kenny Passarelli on bass as well as drummer Roger Pope and guitarist Caleb Quaye, who had both performed with John as far back as his first long-player…

The quality of his records may fluctuate over the decades, but there has never been any doubt that Elton John retains a keen ear for fashionable pop. So it is no surprise that he handed over tapes from his purple patch of the early '70s – roughly Elton John through Blue Moves – to the Australian dance duo Pnau, giving them full reign to sample, interpolate, splice and dice familiar tunes into new dance tracks…

The late '80s were wrought with equal measures of tremendous professional popularity and personal crisis for Elton John. As he would reveal later, this inspired double-LP live collection released in 1987 captures the artist at one of the best and worst times of his life. In fact, John cites the emotionally charged "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" as triggering what would become a "severe mental breakdown," the results of nearly a decade of substance-fueled decadence. On top of it all and perhaps most tellingly is John's tattered voice. So dire was the situation that literally within weeks of the concert he would undergo a surgical procedure that could have easily ended his career had it failed.