Deep Cuts Corner Volume 4 - Elton John

I'm breaking with my own tradition and picking 15 cuts instead of my usual 5 but holy shit narrowing it down to 5 would be impossible. Even 15 is too few, really. Narrowing it down to ONLY 3 songs from Tumbleweed Connection will be hard enough. Seriously if you've never heard that album seek it out immediately it's the definition of sublime. But Elton John has had such a long and prolific career that there is a wealth of material to choose from. And pretty much every album has at least one or two hidden gems. Even the album where he didn't play any of the instruments and was coked out of his mind featured a minor hit (a cover of Johnny Be Goode which isn't on this list but I'm just using it for example). Some of these might be more well known than others. For instance, I would have picked Burn Down the Mission but I feel like a lot more people know that one now. Hip people, mind you lol. I should also say that, as with Joe Cocker and Stevie Nicks from my other posts, Elton has, at this point in his career, recorded songs for countless soundtracks, tribute albums, and charity projects and they're almost always great. But my favorites where he's concerned are usually forgotten album cuts so the tracks here are at least easier to find on streaming services. Anyways, here is my list in no particular order...


1) Ballad of a Well Known Gun - fom the afformentioned Tumbleweed album. Bernie and Elton make their attempt at a country story song. It doesn't sound much like country, but goddamn it's good. While I would normally choose album versions to post, here I picked the live version from Elton's 60th Birthday Concert at Madison Square Garden. The kids chorus in the background adds so much fun to the proceedings and Elton and the band are in fine form. It was the first time they had played it in 30 years and they haven't played it since. Seek this concert out if you're so inclined it's one of the best live shows I've ever seen. He plays all the hits, a plethora of deep cuts, and sounds great through all of it.

2) American Triangle - from the Songs From the West Coast album, regarded as Elton's comeback of sorts to pop albums after almost a decade of making Disney soundtracks and Broadway shows, this song is about the hate crime murder of Matthew Shepherd. Rufus Wainwright sings backing vocals on the album version but again I chose a live version from Top of the Pops (mostly because it at least gives you something to watch while you listen) and he sounds great here.

3) Friends Never Say Goodbye - from The Road to El Dorado Soundtrack and featuring the Backstreet Boys doing background vocals.

4) A Woman's Needs - from the Duets album, this is a duet with Tammy Wynette written by Elton and Bernie and it's absolutely gorgeous and gave Tammy one of the best songs in her later years. Hearing this makes me wish they did more journeyman song writing for varied artists. Bonnie Raitt could kill this song, for instance.

5) Where to Now, St. Peter? - from Tumbleweed, another song Elton has only played sparingly throughout his career which makes me wish he'd actually do one of those full album tours to revisit it. Alas, with touring canceled indefinitely and Elton deeply ensconced in his farewell tour at that, it will likely never happen.

6) Electricity - The penultimate track from the Broadway show Billy Elliot, which I absolutely love. There's just so much I relate to in this story, from a rough relationship with my father to being queer and feeling different to having the strength to follow your passion. I so wish they would make a movie musical out of this score because it's one of the best things Elton has ever done. This is his version released as a single around the same time that the show first premiered in the West End in London.

7) Son of Your Father - also from Tumbleweed, again a story song, again a forgotten gem.

8) High Flying Bird - this gorgeous album cut is from Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player and I again chose the 60th Birthday Concert version because I think its so good and he again hasn't played it since.

9) Holiday Inn - Elton's cheeky ode to America's low rent hotel chain first appeared on the Madman Across the Water album. The message is slight, but the music is beautiful.

10) Gone to Shiloh - from The Union, the album Elton made with Leon Russell, and featuring Neil Young on backing vocals. This is a beautiful story song about the Civil War. Somebody on YouTube made a haunting video out of pics of Elton and Leon and real photos of soldiers during the period.

11) Sleeping With the Past - from the album of the same name. Club At the End of the Street was the hit off of the album but there are numerous gems on it.

12) Roy Rogers - from the Goodbye Yellowbrick Road album, this is Elton's ode to the cowboys and movie memories from his childhood.

13) The King Must Die - from the Elton John album. I prefer the live version from '86 with a full live orchestra but there were no usable videos for that one, but the song is great no matter what.

14) Hey Ahab - another cut from The Union, one of the best late period albums Elton has made.

15) Harmony - from Goodbye Yellowbrick Road. Pure bliss.