Of the thirty or so original studio albums he released so far this is one of my favorites. After the somewhat sprawling debute "Empty Sky"(see earlier post) this comes out evenly produced and arranged thus giving the songs and vocals enough room to glow. It was his first produced by Gus Dudgeon, who in an interview has claimed it originally wasn't meant as an Elton John album, instead a collection of demos showing his and Taupin's song writing abilities for other artists to concider. Don't know if what you get here are the exact demo versions with further arrangements for the stock issue, or if re-recorded...but it could be one reason it comes out so relaxed with emphasis on songs rather than cosmetics. All cuts with basic setting, often reinforced by strings and quires, sometimes almost bombastic yet at the same time rather unpretentious and very honest. Happy it didn't remain a demo collection and the songs spread all over other artists, showing up on diverse albums with dissimilar arrangements. Cause this is great as it is and though I've heard the songs many many times during these fifty years I still return for more and then especially to "Your Song", "Border Song" and "The Cage". Issued and reissued on every possible format all over the world through the years. First US on UNI Records (7309). Japan 2008 2xCD ( Mercury UICY 93678/9) came with twenty bonus tracks. I'm not 100% for the timeline of this UK copy, not the very first but quite early with label as shown here on thick vinyl in a fully structured fold/out cover.
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