Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Elton John - Duets (1993)


This is the only Elton John CD I currently have in my collection and it's a hot mess of adult contemporary drivel. Even the few decent tracks can't save the odd decision-making here: k.d. lang singing disco, inexplicably reining in the characteristic voices of Little Richard and Gladys Knight, Tammy Wynette's twang trying to breath life into an awful pop waltz, wasting the songwriting talents of Nik Kershaw and Stevie Wonder, and choosing some odd duet partners like Chris Rea and Leonard Cohen. And how did Paul Young ever become popular? Then, as if John is trying to wave his middle finger in our face, the final track isn't a duet at all. Lackluster at best.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #25

Tracks: The few good tracks here are the cover of the The Temptations' song Shakey Ground with Don Henley, a fun but needless cover of Don't Go Breaking My Heart with RuPaul, and the reason I bought the disc, the sugar sweet version of Cole Porter's True Love with Kiki Dee. All of these tracks' strength seems to be the material rather than the actual performances.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  Even though its been almost 20 years, I can still remember buying this disc at the Target at Bitters & Hwy 281 in San Antonio. At the time (early '94), we lived near that store and this CD was an impulse buy during a regular trip to the store with my infant son.

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