Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

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This article is about the Elton John album. For the single of the same name, see Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (song).
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road cover
Studio album by Elton John
Released October 5, 1973
Recorded Château d'Hérouville, Pontoise, France, May 1973
Genre Rock
Glam Rock
Length 76:12
Label MCA Records
(US/Canada)
DJM Records
Producer Gus Dudgeon
Professional reviews
Elton John chronology
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
(1973)		 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
(1973)		 Caribou
(1974)

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is the seventh studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1973. It is regarded by many as his magnum opus. With worldwide sales of at least 20 million it is his best selling studio album. In 2000 Q magazine placed it at number 84 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 91 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Contents

[edit] History

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was recorded at the Château d'Hérouville, where John had previously recorded Honky Château and Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player. The amount of material was such that Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was released as a double album, his first. This album had originally been planned to be recorded in Jamaica, since The Rolling Stones had recorded Goats Head Soup there. Technical difficulties, coupled with political unrest in the country at the time forced the band to make an early departure without any productive work getting done.[1]

In addition to the three successful singles released from this album (see below), many other cuts received substantial airplay at AOR stations when it was released, including "Harmony"; the 11-minute epic, "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding"; and his Marilyn Monroe tribute, "Candle in the Wind." It was produced by Gus Dudgeon.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by John/Taupin.

[edit] Side one

  1. "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" – 11:09
  2. "Candle in the Wind" – 3:49
  3. "Bennie and the Jets" – 5:23

[edit] Side two

  1. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" – 3:13
  2. "This Song Has No Title" – 2:23
  3. "Grey Seal" – 4:00
  4. "Jamaica Jerk-Off" – 3:38
  5. "I've Seen That Movie Too" – 5:58

[edit] Side three

  1. "Sweet Painted Lady" – 3:54
  2. "The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-34)" – 4:23
  3. "Dirty Little Girl" – 5:01
  4. "All the Girls Love Alice" – 5:09

[edit] Side four

  1. "Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock n' Roll)" – 2:42
  2. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" – 4:53
  3. "Roy Rogers" – 4:08
  4. "Social Disease" – 3:43
  5. "Harmony" – 2:46

[edit] Bonus tracks (2003 30th Anniversary Hybrid SACD Deluxe Edition / DVD-A Edition)

  1. "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" – 2:51
  2. "Jack Rabbit" – 1:49
  3. "Screw You (Young Man's Blues)" – 4:43
  4. "Candle in the Wind" (acoustic version) – 3:51

The original LP and CD issues were on two discs, while the 1995 CD remaster put the album on one disc as it was slightly less than 80 minutes. The 30th anniversary edition followed the original format, splitting the album across two discs to allow the inclusion of the bonus tracks, while a DVD on the making of the album was also included. There is also an MFSL version of the album.

[edit] B-sides

Song Format
"Jack Rabbit" Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting 7" (US/UK)
"Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting 7" (US/UK)
"Screw You (Young Man's Blues)" Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 7" (US/UK)

[edit] Personnel

  • "Love Lies Bleeding"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass, backing vocals
    • Davey Johnstone – electric guitar, backing vocals
    • Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals
    • David Hentschel – A.R.P. synthesizer
  • "Candle in the Wind"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass, backing vocals
    • Davey Johnstone – electric guitar, backing vocals
    • Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals
  • "Bennie and the Jets"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano, organ
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – acoustic, electric guitars
    • Nigel Olsson – drums
  • "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass, backing vocals
    • Davey Johnstone – Leslie guitar, backing vocals
    • Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals
    • Del Newman – orchestral arrangement
  • "This Song Has No Title"
    • Elton John – vocals, Farfisa organ, electric piano, mellotron, piano
  • "Grey Seal"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano, mellotron, electric piano
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – electric guitar
    • Nigel Olsson – drums, congas
  • "Jamaica Jerk-Off"
    • Elton John – vocals, organs
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – electric guitars
    • Nigel Olsson – drums
    • Prince Rhino – vocal Interjections
  • "I've Seen That Movie Too"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – acoustic, electric guitars
    • Nigel Olsson – drums
    • Del Newman – orchestral arrangement
  • "Sweet Painted Lady"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar
    • Nigel Olsson – drums, tambourine
    • Del Newman – orchestral arrangement
  • "The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-34)"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass, backing vocals
    • Davey Johnstone – electric guitar, backing vocals
    • Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals
    • Del Newman – orchestral arrangement
  • "Dirty Little Girl"
    • Elton John – vocals, Leslie piano, mellotron
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – electric guitar
    • Nigel Olsson – drums
  • "All the Girls Love Alice"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – electric guitar
    • Nigel Olsson – drums
    • David Hentschel – A.R.P. synthesizer
    • Ray Cooper – tambourine
    • Kiki Dee – background vocals
  • "Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n Roll)"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano, Farfisa organ
    • Dee Murray – bass, backing vocals
    • Davey Johnstone – electric, slide guitars, backing vocals
    • Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals
  • "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – electric guitar
    • Nigel Olsson – drums
  • "Roy Rogers"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – acoustic, steel guitars
    • Nigel Olsson – drums
    • Del Newman – orchestral arrangement
  • "Social Disease"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass
    • Davey Johnstone – electric guitar, Banjo
    • Nigel Olsson – drums
    • Leroy Gomez – saxophone
  • "Harmony"
    • Elton John – vocals, piano
    • Dee Murray – bass, backing vocals
    • Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
    • Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals
    • Del Newman – orchestral arrangement

[edit] Production

  • Producer: Gus Dudgeon
  • Engineer: David Hentschel
  • Assistant engineers: Peter Kelsey, Andy Scott
  • Tape operator: Barry Sage
  • Orchestra contractor: David Katz
  • Arranger: Del Newman
  • Art direction: David Larkham, Michael Ross
  • Artwork: David Larkham, Michael Ross, Ian Beck
  • Liner notes: Gus Dudgeon, John Tobler

[edit] Charts

[edit] Album

Year Chart Position
1973 UK Album Chart 1
1973 Billboard Pop Albums 1
1987 The Billboard 200 114

[edit] Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1973 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road UK Singles Chart 6
1973 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Billboard Adult Contemporary 7
1973 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Billboard Pop Singles 2
1973 Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting UK Singles Chart 7
1974 Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting Billboard Pop Singles 12
1974 Bennie and The Jets Billboard Pop Singles 1
1974 Candle In The Wind UK Singles Chart 11

[edit] Certifications

Organization Level Date
BPI – UK Gold October 1, 1973
RIAA – USA Gold October 12, 1973
BPI – UK Platinum February 1, 1975
RIAA – USA Platinum March 23, 1993
RIAA – USA Double Platinum March 23, 1993
RIAA – USA Triple Platinum March 23, 1993
RIAA – USA 4x Platinum March 23, 1993
RIAA – USA 5x Platinum March 23, 1993
RIAA – USA 6x Platinum September 11, 1995
RIAA – USA 7x Platinum August 26, 1998

[edit] References

  1. ^ Elton John, Bernie Taupin (Lyricist), Davey Johnstone (Guitarist), Nigel Olsson (Drummer). (2001). [[1] Classic Albums: Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road] [Documentary]. UK: ISIS Productions, Eagle Rock Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-12-24. Event occurs at approx. 16 minutes.
Preceded by
Goats Head Soup by The Rolling Stones		 Billboard 200 number-one album
November 10, 1973 - January 4, 1974		 Succeeded by
The Singles: 1969-1973 by The Carpenters
v • d • e
Elton John
Elton John • Guy Babylon • Bob Birch • Davey Johnstone • John Mahon • Nigel Olsson
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The Very Best of Elton John • One Night Only: Greatest Hits Live at Madison Square Garden • Live in Barcelona • To Russia with Elton • Dream Ticket
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