Elton John : Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)

THIS BOY'S TOO YOUNG

TO BE SINGING THE BLUES

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 

is the seventh 

studio album 

by English

 singer, 

pianist, 

and 

composer

 Elton John

 A double album, 

it was released on

  October,5th 1973, 

by DJM Records. 

Recorded at the 

Château d'Hérouville

 in France, 

the album became a 

double LP 

once John 

and his band 

became inspired by 

the locale.

the album contains

 the hits

 "Candle in the Wind", 

US number-one single

 "Bennie and the Jets",

 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", 

and 

"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", 

along with

 the live favourites

 "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" 

and

 "All the Girls Love Alice".

The album was a 

strong commercial success,

 reaching number one 

on the Billboard 

Top LPs & Tape chart; 

it has since 

sold more than 

20 million

 copies worldwide 

and is widely regarded 

as John's 

magnum opus.

 It was inducted into

 the Grammy 

Hall of Fame

 in 2003,

 and continues to be

 highly regarded in 

various rankings.

 It was ranked

 number 112 

on Rolling Stone's 

2020 list of the

 "500 Greatest

 Albums of All Time".

 In 2025, 

the album was deemed

 "culturally, historically, 

or

 aesthetically significant"

 by the

 Library of

 Congress

 and selected for 

preservation in the

 National Recording Registry.

Production

Under the working titles of

 Vodka and Tonics 

and 

Silent Movies, 

Talking Pictures, 

Bernie Taupin

 wrote the lyrics 

in two and 

a half weeks, 

with Elton John 

composing most

 of the melodies

 in three days 

while staying at the 

Pink Flamingo Hotel

 in Kingston, Jamaica.

John had wanted

 to go to Jamaica, 

in part because

 the Rolling Stones

 had just recorded 

Goats Head Soup 

there.

Production on 

the album was started

 in Jamaica

 in January 1973,

 but due to difficulties

 with the sound system 

and the studio piano,

 logistical issues 

arising from the

 Joe Frazier–George Foreman

 boxing match

 taking place 

in Kingston,

 and protests over

 the political 

and economic situation

 in the country,

 the band decided to 

move before any 

productive work

 was done.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 

was recorded in two weeks

 at the 

Studio d'enregistrement 

Michel Magne, 

at the 

Château d'Hérouville

 near Pontoise,

 in France, 

where John

 had previously recorded 

Honky Château 

and

 Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player. 

While a version of

 "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" 

was recorded in Jamaica, 

that recording

 was discarded;

 the released version

 of the song came from

 the sessions

 at the Château. 

The band plays on

 all the songs except 

"This Song Has No Title", 

on which John

 performs all

 the piano, 

keyboards

 and 

vocal parts.

According to

 the album's producer, 

Gus Dudgeon,

 the album was not planned 

as a two-record collection. 

John and Taupin 

composed a total of

 22 tracks

 for the album, 

of which 18

 counting

 "Funeral for a Friend" 

and

 "Love Lies Bleeding" 

as two

 distinct tracks

 were used, 

enough that it was released 

as a double album, 

John's first

 three more such albums 

followed up to 2011

 Through the medium

 of cinematic metaphor, 

the album builds on

 nostalgia for a childhood 

and culture

 left in the past.

Tracks include

 "Bennie and the Jets",

 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road",

 the 11-minute

 "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding", 

and the 

Marilyn Monroe tribute

 "Candle in the Wind".

 "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"

 was inspired by

 memories of a 

Market Rasen pub,

 Taupin frequented

 when younger.

 "Grey Seal",

 previously the 

B-side

 of the 

1970 single

 "Rock and Roll Madonna", 

was re-recorded

 for the album.

NOTES :

This is The 

40th Anniversary 

Deluxe Edition

I Just Did Not Add

The CD With

Other People 

Singing His Songs

BUT

I Did 

ADD

Different Mixes

And The 

Whole

Hammersmith Odeon, 

London 1973

Concert

The 40th

Only Gave 

Highlights

TRACKLIST

CD 1

Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding

Candle in the Wind

Bennie and the Jets

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

This Song Has No Title

Grey Seal

Jamaica Jerk-off

I've Seen That Movie Too

Candle In The Wind 

(Remix)

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 

 (Remix)

Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding

 (Alternate mix)

Bennie and the Jets 

(Remix)

CD 2

Sweet Painted Lady

The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-1934)

Dirty Little Girl

All The Girls Love Alice

Your Sister Can't Twist

 (But She Can Rock 'n' Roll)

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

Roy Rogers

Social Disease

Harmony

Whenever You're Ready

 (We'll Go Steady)

Jack Rabbit

Screw You 

(Young Man's Blues)

Candle In The Wind 

(Acoustic) 

 (2003 acoustic remix by Greg Penny)

Philadelphia Freedom

Pinball Wizard

Saturday's Alright for Fighting

 (Remix)

Bennie & The Jets

 (Club Mix)

Candle In The Wind '97

 (Goodbye England's Rose) [*]

CD 3

 (Live At Hammersmith Odeon, London 1973

 (Part 1)

Funeral For A Friend/ Love Lies Bleeding 

Candle In The Wind 

Hercules 

Rocket Man 

Bennie And The Jets 

Daniel

This Song Has No Title 

Honky Cat

CD 4

(Live At Hammersmith Odeon, London 1973

 (Part 2)

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 

The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-1934) 

Elderberry Wine

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer 

I've Seen That Movie Too 

All The Girls Love Alice 

Crocodile Rock

Your Song 

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting 

BONUS TRACKS

Someone Saved My Life Tonight 

(Stripped Remix) [*]

Your Song 

(Remix) [*]

Daniel

 (Remix)

Rocket Man

 (Remix)

Bennie and the Jets

  (The JETS Bass Remix)

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