Elton John autobiography to be published in 2019

Elton John is chronicling his "crazy life" in an autobiography to be published in 2019.

Publishers Pan Macmillan and Henry Holt announced Thursday that they have jointly acquired worldwide rights for the musician's as-yet-untitled memoir.

John, who is 69, is working with music writer Alexis Petridis on the book Kickass Unblocked Site.

John said in a statement that he was finding the process of writing his memoirs "cathartic."

He said that "as I look back, I realize what a crazy life I have had the extreme privilege of living. ... My life has been one helluva rollercoaster ride and it's still lumbering on."

In a five-decade career, John has won five Grammys and an Academy Award, and composed classic songs including "Rocket Man," ''I'm Still Standing" and "Tiny Dancer."

Elton John attacks The X Factor

Elton John has a love-hate relationship with The X-Factor. / Getty

Sir Elton John is glad The X Factor is "on the way out".

The 'Rocket Man' singer insists he's never been a fan of Simon Cowell's TV talent show and other programmes like it and is glad the general public's enjoyment of them seems to be waning.

Speaking to ES Magazine, he said: "There's so much good music out there, much better than all the pop s**t they play on Radio 1. I never liked shows like The X Factor; I'm glad they are on the way out."

Elton has always had a negative opinion of The X Factor and banned his songs from being used on the show until 2010.

However, after he relented and let his music be performed by the acts he even went on to appear on the show, duetting with Gary Barlow on the 2013 finale.

Previously, he had branded the show "boring and brain crippling".

The 68-year-old musician has just released his 32nd studio album Wonderful Crazy Night and he loves the creative freedom he now has as a legendary artist.

He said: "I like the creative process. If you make peace with the fact that you aren't going to sell millions of records any more, you can be more like Bob Dylan and do what the hell you want. I want to keep being inventive. I don't want to stop creating."

After being at the top of the music world for decades, Elton insists his main ambition in life now is to be the best dad he can to his two sons, Zachary, five, and Elijah, three, with his husband David Furnish.

He admitted: "'I hate being away from my kids. We FaceTime but it's not the same. They are wonders. OK, they beat the s**t out of one another - but they're brothers. I look forward to being closer to them, that is the way I want my future life to go. I want to give them a childhood they can love. And be a parent they will miss. I want to leave them a good place to live."

The full interview with Elton appears in this week's new-look issue of ES Magazine out today.

Vladimir Putin wants his seat back at the world’s table. How far will he go to get it?

REUTERS/eltonjohn/Instagram

Vladimir Putin did not call Elton John and suggested they meet to discuss LGBT rights in Russia, but a lot of people believed that he did. On Monday, John wrote a post on Instagram saying that he had received the phone call. On Tuesday, the post went viral, penetrating even the Russian pro-government print media. By close of business, Putin’s spokesman denied that the call had ever taken place. On Wednesday, an experienced Russian prankster, nicknamed Vovan, released a recording of the conversation in which he impersonated Putin and his partner, nicknamed Lexus, impersonated the Russian president’s press secretary.

It says something about the state of Russian media that neither the opposition journalists nor the pro-government ones thought to call the Kremlin press office for corroboration before publishing: Both sides know that social networks are usually a more reliable source than the Kremlin. But it is even more remarkable that both sides (and a number of foreign media outlets) believed that Putin personally called the singer. Why would they so easily believe something that seems so improbable? Try imagining the way the world looks from Moscow, and it will all make sense.

Just two years ago this month Putin scored the biggest foreign-policy victory of his career: He hijacked Syria. President Barack Obama had just failed to get congressional support for intervention there. Swooping in when the American president stumbled, Putin suddenly positioned himself as the arbiter of war, peace, and chemical weapons. He published an op-ed in the New York Times that was the single best example of Soviet propaganda techniques since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Appealing to international institutions and calling out American exceptionalism, Putin used American ideals and American terminology to put America in its place. He was on top of the world.

Now, two years later, Putin is an international pariah. His country is subjected to economic and diplomatic sanctions and is facing the pressure of lowered oil prices. The economy is in a death spiral, Putin’s cronies cannot travel abroad, and Putin himself has been shunned and shamed by Western leaders. All this has happened because of two things: the war in Ukraine and the Kremlin’s antigay campaign.

Last month, the Kremlin announced that Putin will attend the United Nations General Assembly; he will address it on September 28. Putin has not graced the UN personally in a decade, but he is in fact returning to the site of his foreign-relations triumph of September 2013: it was in the Security Council session then that Russia took control of the Syrian issue. Now he wants, once again, to talk about Syria. This means that he needs to push Ukraine and gay rights off the agenda. For the last few weeks, a de facto ceasefire has taken hold in eastern Ukraine (where many de jure ceasefires have failed) — and the Western media have noticed. But how was he to communicate that Russia could be more reasonable on the LGBT issue?

Enter Elton John. The singer attended a political conference in Kiev last week, met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and talked LGBT rights with him. He seemed to be positioning himself as a sort of global LGBT ambassador. Over the weekend, John told the BBC that he would like to meet with the Russian president and discuss the issue with him as well.

In the Kremlin, John’s proposal could be taken literally. The Russian leadership believes in a worldwide gay conspiracy, even a backroom global gay government that is trying to take over the world. Back in December 2013, when the Russian parliament was discussing the protests in Ukraine, the chairman of the foreign relations committee, Alexei Pushkov (who will be accompanying Putin to the UN), warned that if Ukraine moves toward the West, it will become part of “the sphere of influence of gay culture” — as directly opposed to the Russian sphere of influence. Reporting on John’s speech in Kiev last week, Russia’s highest-circulation daily stated that John “invited Ukraine to join the gay community.” So the same newspaper could imagine that if Putin had, indeed, picked up the phone to call John, he would have secured a direct line to the gay rulers of the world — and he could communicate to them that he was a reasonable man who shouldn’t be criticized quite so harshly.

If John would get that message to the gay power establishment, then Putin could have his reset and the conversation in New York would focus on Syria. After a few weeks of obfuscating what it’s doing in Syria, Russia is saying that it is trying to protect what remains of the Syrian state, because if it fails then things will get even worse. The metamessage here is, Russia is reasonable and rational while the West, with its sanctions, is hysterical and unfair.

Why is Putin coming to the UN, and why is he working so hard to re-frame the conversation? The sanctions have made an impact on Russia and its politicians, and Putin may be hoping that they will be lifted or relaxed. But more likely, re-establishing himself as an equal partner in a conversation with the United States is an end in itself. He needs it for his domestic audience, which has not seen a demonstration of Russia’s international stature in a while. He also needs it for himself: while he doesn’t care what the West thinks of Russian politics, he personally does not enjoy being shunned. This is the man who worked tirelessly, personally to host a big party in Sochi (and then almost nobody came): he likes to hang out with the big guys and throw his weight around.

All the travel and general information for the Elton John concert on Saturday, June 13th..

WE ARE delighted to welcome Elton John and his Band to Banks's Stadium on Saturday, June 13th for what promises to be a fantastic live, outdoor concert.

Tickets are still available from the Banks's Stadium Ticket Office (open weekdays 9.00am until 4.30pm) or by calling 01922-651 414/416.

In the meantime, here is all the transport and general information that you will need:

GETTING TO THE CONCERT

BY CAR

Banks’s Stadium is in Walsall, West Midlands and right next to the M6 motorway in the heart of the Black Country. Walsall is located 8 miles north-west of the City of Birmingham and 6 miles east of the City of Wolverhampton. Walsall is served by the A34, the A454, the A461, the A4148 and the M6 for road travel. There are three nearby junctions on the M6 motorway: J7, J9 and J10.

EVENT DAY PARKING

Please note there is no public parking on Banks’s Stadium for the Elton John concert other than for accredited guests and hospitality customers. Parking in close proximity to the Stadium is outlined below and will be on a strictly first come first served basis, and will be limited. We have identified over 700 parking spaces at different locations at walking distance from the ground. Patrons attending the stadium by car are also asked to note that Bescot Crescent from the entrance to Bescot Retail Park to the junction at Brockhurst Crescent will be closed from 6.00pm on the day of the concert.

Car Park A - Barhale Car Park (WS1 4NN) – Approx. 95 car parking spaces. Passes for this car park can be purchased in advance from the Ticket Office on 01922 651416 at a cost of £5.

Car Park B - Joseph Leckie CTC School (WS5 4PG) – Approx. 200 car parking spaces. Approx. 5 minute walk from the Stadium. Access after 6pm from A4031 and Walstead Road East. Passes for this car park can be purchased in advance from the Ticket Office on 01922 651 416 at a cost of £5.

Car Parks C - Banks’s Stadium (WS1 4SA) Approx. 430 general car park spaces marked as Red Zone (100 spaces for Hospitality customers only with permit), Green Zone (280 spaces) and Yellow Zone (130 spaces) on the map. Passes for these on-site car parks can be purchased in advance from the Ticket Office on 01922 651 416 at a cost of £10. Please note that the Green and Yellow Zone car parks have uneven tarmac and gravel surfacing. These may be unsuitable for people with mobility issues.

Coach and minibuses enquiries, please call 01922 651416.

PARKING FOR PEOPLE WITH LIMITED MOBILITY & SPECIAL NEEDS

There are 35 designated car parking spaces on the Banks’s Stadium Red Zone Car Park for Blue Badge holders and pre-booking of these spaces will be required by calling 01922 651 416.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Walsall Football Club is keen to promote alternatives to travelling to the concert by car in order to minimise the impact on the environment, on local residents and on the highway network. The concert will finish at 22.30 and we advise patrons to check times with the rail and bus providers before travel.

TRAIN

Bescot Station serves Banks’s Stadium on the Walsall Line between Birmingham New Street and Walsall. It is situated just 0.1 mile away from the Away Stand of Banks’s Stadium and less than two minutes walk away. Please check with National Rail and the Trainline to check the train times to Bescot Station. The concert is due to finish at 22.30 and we have been advised that extra trains have been instructed to stop at Bescot Station to coincide with that timing:

To Birmingham: 22.43 23.13 23.43

To Walsall: 23.00 23.41

BUS

Most local bus services arrive into Walsall bus station, situated 2.6 miles north of Banks’s Stadium, with routes from Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Dudley, West Bromwich and the outskirts of Walsall. Banks’s Stadium is served by the 401E and 45 routes.

GENERAL INFORMATION

DO’S

Do keep your ticket with you at all times.

Do be in your seat by the start of the show.

Do allow ample time to take advantage of the toilet facilities.

Do bring waterproof clothing.

Do put any rubbish in the bins provided for you.

Do look out for official vendors and concession stalls.

Do avoid unlicensed traders outside of the venue offering inferior goods.

Do tune in to local radio stations for the latest travel updates.

DON'TS

Do not bring food or drink of any sort into the venue.

Do not arrive with any form of audio or visual recording equipment. There will be security checks in place and items may be confiscated if necessary.

Do not put up umbrellas during the concert performance.

Do not leave valuables on display in your vehicle.

ACCESS

Access to the food village will commence at 4.00pm.

Access to the venue will commence at 5.00pm.

Please enter by the gates indicated by signage and stewards. From here follow the signage around the venue to find the area, block, row and seat indicated on your ticket.

YOUR SEATS

This is an outdoor concert. The seating on the pitch is all flat floor, not raised.

Seats within the venue may be covered or uncovered.

The concert will not be cancelled in the event of inclement weather.

Please bring clothing appropriate to the expected weather conditions.

Please note that there will not be a left luggage or cloakroom facility at the venue.

ON ARRIVAL

The concert will commence at approximately 7.00pm. Please allow plenty of time for your journey and for parking and transfer, as well as getting to your seat.

REFRESHMENTS

A full range of hot & cold food and drink will be available to purchase at Banks’s Stadium.

Please note there will be limited access to credit/debit card machines.

Cash machines will NOT be available within the Stadium but there is one located at the

hotel on-site

NO CAMERAS OR AUDIO/VISUAL EQUIPMENT

Please do not bring cameras, video recorders or tape recorders, as these will not be permitted within the venue.

FIRST AID

First Aid points are situated within the venue and are clearly signposted.

Any steward will be pleased to direct you.

Exclusive: Elton John on World AIDS Day: Compassion will end this epidemic

To mark World AIDS Day – the day on which the world pauses to remember the millions of men and women who have lost their lives to AIDS-related illnesses – best-selling artist Sir Elton John spoke exclusively with MSNBC about his work as an activist, the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS, and the role every person can play in ending the most devastating public health pandemic in history. And he reveals the one thing he knows for sure: It all comes down to compassion.

In 1992, John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), which rose to be one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS programs in the world. In the past 23 years, EJAF has raised more than $349 million – crucial funds that have helped people across the globe obtain access to healthcare and influence the policies that affect the everyday lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.

At the close of last year, there were 36.9 million people living with HIV, according to UNAIDS. There were 2 million people who were newly infected with HIV in 2014, and 1.2 million who died as a result of an AIDS-related illness. The world now has the science to achieve zero AIDS-related deaths, and organizations like John’s are leading the charge toward this ambitious global goal set by the United Nations.

While money helps wage the war, to quote from the title of his bestselling memoir, John recognizes that “love is the cure.” Stigma remains the No. 1 driver of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic as it enters its 35th year. 

John’s pioneering role as an HIV/AIDS activist is rooted in compassion, which he learned from his dear friend Ryan White, whose very public diagnosis with AIDS changed the face of HIV in America. White was a hemophiliac who was diagnosed with AIDS at just 13 years old in the 1980s. He had been given a blood transfusion that was infected with HIV, and the fears generated by the stigma surrounding his illness led to his dismissal from school. White and his mother courageously fought for his right to an education, and his all-too-short life as activist planted a seed in John, which he details below for MSNBC.

British singer Elton John (R) performs at the “All The Hits Tour” concert in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 24, 2015.

Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters

MSNBC: Sir Elton, I know you had a special relationship with Ryan White. Was he the source of your inspiration to become an AIDS activist? 

  John: Ryan White changed the world, and he certainly changed me. Getting to know and love Ryan and his wonderful mother Jeanne has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I first learned about Ryan, and how he and his family were basically being hounded out of their community in Kokomo, Indiana, by reading about him in a magazine. I was enraged by the way this poor family was being treated by their own neighbors during what had to be one of the most difficult and painful periods of their lives and became determined to help the White family any way I could. We very quickly became friends, and I helped them move to a more accepting community in Cicero, IN. Then in April of 1990, I spent the last week of Ryan’s life with him in an Indianapolis hospital, and I joined Phil Donahue and Howie Long as pall bearers at his funeral. 

At that time, my life was a complete mess. I was rich and famous, but I was also a self-obsessed drug addict. I looked at this extraordinary family, caught up in the terrible tragedy of losing this wonderful, courageous young man, and yet they were still able to forgive the hatred of others and focus their energies on trying to make things better for people living with HIV/AIDS. Then I looked at myself, and I knew something had to change. And it did. I got sober. And once I got sober, I knew I had to do something to honor my friend Ryan’s legacy and to give new purpose to my life. That something turned out to be the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

MSNBC: In May, you told Congress that stigma remains the biggest barrier to ending the AIDS epidemic. Thirty-five years after the outbreak, why is this still true? 

John: HIV/AIDS remains highly stigmatized because it is sexually transmitted. Every society attaches its own particular taboos or exerts a tremendous amount of judgment surrounding sexual practices. There’s a prevailing attitude that a person who acquires a disease through sex “deserves their fate” or “was asking for it.” Some people also think it’s OK to discriminate against people who use drugs, people who engage in sex work, and LGBT people. Of course, such thinking is the height of hypocrisy, not to mention inhumane, but it makes it very easy to write off entire populations as being unworthy of our help and concern. As a result, HIV/AIDS remains a disease of the marginalized, the poor, and the dispossessed. 

MSNBC: The use of drugs, especially injection drugs, fuels the epidemic. Why do you think there is so much hypocrisy and stigma related to drug use, and how can this be addressed to improve the HIV response? 

John: As a society, we have attached a tremendous amount of stigma to drug use and addiction because it is regarded as a behavioral problem that only people who are weak and lack self-control engage in. Outside of the medical and drug rehabilitation communities, there is very little understanding among the general public about the biological realities of addiction, and little empathy for the people who struggle with it every day. But as I can very well attest from personal experience, addiction is something that can happen to anyone, and every single person living with chemical dependency deserves help,  and to be treated with respect, kindness, compassion, and dignity. 

Musician Sir Elton John arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 6, 2015, to testify in support of U.S. funding for global HIV/AIDS treatment.

Photo by Evan Vucci/AP

At a governmental level, this means admitting that the “War on Drugs” has failed spectacularly, and that we have to stop warehousing drug addicts in prisons. It means fully funding drug rehabilitation programs so that every addict who makes the difficult and admirable decision to finally seek help can actually receive it. And it means fully funding needle exchange and syringe services programs, so that people who inject drugs can prevent injection-related HIV transmission and stay healthy until they are able to take that important step into rehabilitation. 

  Let me be perfectly blunt, and unapologetically so: If we demonstrated the same compassion for gay men, poor people, minorities, sex workers, prisoners, and yes, drug users, that we do for other, less marginalized people, there would be no more AIDS in America. So the solution to the twin problems of addiction and AIDS begins with the difficult task of educating people and changing hearts and minds. We must find a way to see the humanity in every person, to meet them and engage with them in the midst of their difficult circumstances, and help them find a path back to sobriety and health. 

MSNBC: Among the groups most affected by HIV in America – gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men – the majority of new infections are occurring among the youngest age group – and they’re rising. What is your message to young LGBT people?  Does self-esteem play a role in this? 

John: My heart truly goes out to LGBTQ youth all around the world. Being a teenager is hard enough – adjusting to a growing and changing body, navigating new emotions and feelings, trying to figure out how you fit into the world and into society – it’s just an incredibly difficult rite of passage. LGBTQ youth have the added challenges of realizing that they are different from their peers, dealing with all of the negative messages from bigots and religious zealots, fearing the possibility of rejection by parents, family, friends, as well as the very real possibility that they may experience physical violence because of who they are and who they love. Is it any wonder that the HIV rates – not to mention the suicide rates – among LGBTQ teens are so much higher than their straight counterparts? 
To all LGBTQ youth, let me just say that you are LOVED. I love every single one of you. You are VALUED. You have so much potential and so many gifts to offer the world. Please, PLEASE know that there are other people in the world who are just like you and who will love you just as you are. Seek out those people, make friends, become part of the greater LGBTQ community. And most importantly, find an LGBTQ health organization that can provide reputable information about your health and safer sex practices and connect you to the medical, mental health, and social services you need. You are all so special, and the world needs you to stay safe, stay healthy, and help contribute to a more just and peaceful future.

MSNBC: What role does compassion play in ending the AIDS epidemic? 

John: Compassion is EVERYTHING! Money is absolutely necessary to ending AIDS, make no mistake! We do need funding to accomplish our ultimate goal. But as I’ve already said – we have the money and we have the means right now to end AIDS. What we lack is the compassion and human decency to do the right thing and make that money and those programs and those treatments available to every person around the world who needs it. 

We need compassion, and we need greater understanding, more than anything else, to end this epidemic.  HIV/AIDS is a disease that not only attacks the human immune system; it also attacks the human social system. It infects our civic institutions with fear, our communities with hate, our corporations with greed, our churches and synagogues and mosques with loathing. There is no medicine, no creation of science that will inoculate us from these social afflictions. And that is why the cure for AIDS is a matter of educating minds and changing hearts. It all comes down to compassion. 

MSNBC: Do you believe you will see the end of AIDS or a cure within your lifetime? For the first time, thought leaders say we have the tools, but do we have the political will? 

John: I do fervently believe that medical science will find a cure and that we will, at the very least, be well on our way to ending AIDS in my lifetime. Right now, even without finding a cure or a vaccine, we already have the tools and tactics that have been proven by research and science to halt the spread of the virus:  condoms, health education, and needle exchange programs. Yet conservative religious and political leaders continue to stand in the way of fully implementing programs we know would save millions of lives. We already have advanced treatments that not only allow people with HIV to live long and healthy lives but also prevent the spread of the disease. Yet millions of people around the world don’t have access to these lifesaving medicines. The reality is that until we give everybody the same access to treatment and prevention, AIDS will never, ever go away. It’s that simple.

MSNBC: What would you encourage the average global citizen to do to help end the epidemic? 

John: Governments and institutions aren’t nameless, faceless monoliths. They start with individuals, and they are guided by individuals. Whether they do good or ill is up to individual choice. And while the AIDS epidemic is bigger than any one of us, the cure requires something from each of us. 

It requires us to talk with our partners, to get tested and practice safe sex, and we must encourage friends and loved ones to do the same. It requires us to stand up for people living with HIV/AIDS and people most at risk of becoming infected. It requires us to educate ourselves about what governments and religious organizations are doing – and NOT doing – in our names. It requires us to be as generous as we possibly can in supporting nonprofit organizations working so hard to end this disease. It requires us to get out and VOTE for politicians who will actually serve our needs and hold them to their campaign promises. It requires us to embrace all people who need and deserve our compassion. 

In other words, ending AIDS requires love, and lots of it. And the best way to engender love is to foster dialogue. We can only love one another if we understand one another. When AIDS is an uncomfortable and untouchable subject, the disease spreads. But when we bring it to the fore, when we aren’t afraid to confront it, information spreads. Compassion spreads. The cure spreads.  

MSNBC: What else is on your mind that you would like to draw attention to this World AIDS Day 2015? 

John: This year, World AIDS Day – Dec. 1 – just so happens to coincide with Giving Tuesday, a global day in which charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give. So in the spirit of Giving Tuesday and World AIDS Day, I encourage everyone to support the Elton John AIDS Foundation by visiting EJAF.org/donate, and give as generously as you can. 

Sir Elton John is founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 2015, the foundation is investing close to $8 million in organizations across the Americas and the Caribbean. Nearly one-third of these grants focus exclusively on the U.S. South, which has some of the highest rates of poverty and HIV incidence in the country.

Elton John has appendicitis, will postpone summer tour dates

Elton John is suffering from appendicitis and will postpone all concerts until he has fully recovered from surgery, it was announced Tuesday.

Turns out the "Tiny Dancer" singer has an abscess on his appendix, a condition discovered when tests were run after he fell ill during his current tour. He is expected to undergo surgery soon, once toxins from the abscess are reduced, according to a rep.

"Elton is incredibly disappointed to postpone these tour dates," the spokesman said on John's official website. "To know that he made such super-human efforts and continued to perform to thousands through his illness only confirms his dedication to his European fans. 

"He is eager to be back on top form and return to play the remaining shows starting in early September 2013."

The 66-year-old was to have headlined a show in London's Hyde Park this Friday, and toured Europe through July. His website's tour page currently lists no shows before early September, but he's down to play 14 dates in Las Vegas from Sept. 18 through Oct. 12.

Forty years on, Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' Is Still Paved in Gold

"Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding," the wide-screen epic that opens Elton John's magnum opus, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973), would suggest an elaborate production effort, extensive overdubs and endless tinkering in the studio. But a live version of the mini-suite from London's Hammersmith Odeon -- included in the expanded box-set reissue of "Yellow Brick Road" that was released Tuesday -- suggests a band in which the sum was equal to the whole, without any doctoring.

That core unit -- John on vocals and piano, Davey Johnstone on guitar, Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums -- had been playing together since recording John's 1971 LP "Madman Across the Water," but its incredible musicianship and range, from grand ballads to all-out rockers, would become evident to concert-goers as John was rolling out material from his new album, beginning in September at the Hollywood Bowl. Pound for pound, these guys could play as tight, and with as much depth, as anybody at a time when pop/rock giants ruled the earth.

"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" isn't John's most thematically cohesive record, that would be "Tumbleweed Connection" (1970), nor his most elaborately orchestrated, such as the string-intensive works associated with arranger Paul Buckmaster ("Elton John," 1970; "Madman" 1971). But it was his most ambitious effort at a time when the double album marked the peak trajectory of many of the era's superstars, from the Stones to Zeppelin to Stevie Wonder. John would continue to record admirable works, including "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" (1975), but "Yellow Brick Road" might be considered his last masterpiece.

It also marked a turning point in his public image, going from the studious-looking virtuoso with seemingly classical leanings to the poster boy for glitter rock, with his outrageous eye wear, platform boots and ambiguous sexuality.

Miraculously, the album was completed in only 17 days, including mixing, at Château d'Hérouville, a studio near Paris that John had dubbed "Honky Château" from his album of the year before, according to the essay written by Alexis Petridus in the box-set's hard-cover booklet. This after an ill-fated attempt to record at Kingston's Dynamic Studio, hence the track "Jamaica Jerk-Off."

"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" would mark the eighth album that John would churn out in under four years, a flowering of creativity unimaginable today, and yet he was only 23 at the time. His partnership with his bandmates, lyricist Bernie Taupin and producer Gus Dudgeon had much to do with the quality of his output, but still, he and Taupin were much more advanced at this stage in their careers than such songwriter teams as Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards and even Bacharach/David were in theirs.

As far as the deluxe box set goes -- which includes the remastered double album, the aforementioned 100-page illustrated book, a DVD of Bryan Forbes' 1973 film "Elton John and Bernie Taupin Say Goodbye To Norma Jean and Other Things," and a disc of mostly negligible covers by the likes of Fall Out Boy and The Band Perry along with more valuable demos, including an early version of "Grey Seal" that dates back to 1970 -- the two live Hammersmith discs are worth the purchase price alone.

Those sets include many of the hits that made "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" such a sensation, including "Candle in the Wind," "Bennie and the Jets" and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting."
But there's also evidence of John and Taupin's ability to craft majestic compositions out of cinematic imagery ("I've Seen That Movie Too") along with rollicking rockers that allowed the band to stretch out ("Elderberry Wine," "Hercules").

John's voice never sounded more youthful, elastic or vital, or his piano playing more propulsive and fleet-fingered. Forty years on, this is one anniversary package that truly deserves to be celebrated.

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