The Very Best of Elton John
1990 compilation album by Elton John
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The Very Best of Elton John is a greatest hits compilation album by British musician Elton John, released by The Rocket Record Company in October 1990. His first career-retrospective compilation album, and fourth official greatest-hits album overall, it was released in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe, and in other countries such as Japan and Australia, but not in the United States, where the box set To Be Continued... was released the following month instead.
| The Very Best of Elton John | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 29 October 1990[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1970–1990 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 137:56 | |||
| Label | Rocket | |||
| Producer |
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| Elton John chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Very Best of Elton John | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
The compilation spans his second album Elton John in 1970 to Sleeping with the Past in 1989. After the double A-sided "Sacrifice"/"Healing Hands" single became a hit and the third best-selling single of 1990 in the United Kingdom, the album became an instant smash in that country. It spent its first two weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart followed by nine weeks at number two, kept there by Madonna's Immaculate Collection. In all, the compilation spent 145 weeks inside the UK top 200 album chart, making a total of 11 re-entries, and it was certified 9× Platinum by the BPI on 1 March 1995.[4]
It includes a total of 28 hit singles plus the new songs "Easier to Walk Away" and "You Gotta Love Someone", both of which also made the charts between 1990 and 1991. The release also spawned a music video compilation, which was originally released on both laserdisc and VHS, and reissued on DVD.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Your Song" | Elton John, 1970 | 4:03 | |
| 2. | "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be a Long, Long Time)" | Honky Château, 1972 | 4:42 | |
| 3. | "Honky Cat" | Honky Château | 5:15 | |
| 4. | "Crocodile Rock" | Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, 1973 | 3:58 | |
| 5. | "Daniel" | Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player | 3:56 | |
| 6. | "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973 | 3:17 | |
| 7. | "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | 4:57 | |
| 8. | "Candle in the Wind" | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | 3:51 | |
| 9. | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" | Caribou, 1974 | 5:38 | |
| 10. | "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (The Beatles cover) | Lennon–McCartney | Non-album single, 1974 | 6:17 |
| 11. | "Philadelphia Freedom" (edited version) | Non-album single, 1975 | 5:42 | |
| 12. | "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" | Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, 1975 | 6:47 | |
| 13. | "Pinball Wizard" (The Who cover) (not on vinyl) | Pete Townshend | Tommy soundtrack, 1975 | 5:16 |
| 14. | "The Bitch Is Back" (not on vinyl) | Caribou | 3:46 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee) |
| Non-album single, 1976 | 4:32 |
| 16. | "Bennie and the Jets" | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | 5:21 | |
| 17. | "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" | Blue Moves, 1976 | 3:51 | |
| 18. | "Song for Guy" | John | A Single Man, 1978 | 6:41 |
| 19. | "Part-Time Love" |
| A Single Man | 3:16 |
| 20. | "Blue Eyes" |
| Jump Up!, 1982 | 3:28 |
| 21. | "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" |
| Too Low for Zero, 1983 | 4:46 |
| 22. | "I'm Still Standing" | Too Low for Zero | 3:04 | |
| 23. | "Kiss the Bride" | Too Low for Zero | 3:56 | |
| 24. | "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" (single version) | Breaking Hearts, 1984 | 4:11 | |
| 25. | "Passengers" |
| Breaking Hearts | 3:24 |
| 26. | "Nikita" | Ice on Fire, 1985 | 5:45 | |
| 27. | "I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That" (not on vinyl) | Reg Strikes Back, 1988 | 4:00 | |
| 28. | "Sacrifice" | Sleeping with the Past, 1989 | 5:08 | |
| 29. | "Easier to Walk Away" (not on vinyl) | Soon to be released on To Be Continued..., 1990 | 4:25 | |
| 30. | "You Gotta Love Someone" | Days of Thunder soundtrack, 1990 | 5:01 |
- Ann Orson and Carte Blanche in track 15 are pseudonyms of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, respectively.
- Track 25 is different on European version of the album. "Whispers" from Sleeping with the Past takes the place of "Passengers".
- "Pinball Wizard", "The Bitch Is Back", "I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That" and "Easier to Walk Away" are excised from the vinyl version of the compilation.
- For track 15 information about performance with Kiki Dee is not provided in the release.
- The track "Bennie and the Jets" is a live version (which is not mentioned on the release), probably taken from Here and There live album from 1976 (if yes then shortened here) – as all tracks on this release (with one or two exceptions) are placed in a chronological order, and it is placed on CD2 between "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" – two songs released on a single in 1976. This live version was not released on a single.
- The durations are different on the back cover and the actual CD. On Disc 1, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is listed as 6:12, while the actual song runs at 5:38 and "Philadelphia Freedom" runs at 5:42, rather than 5:19. On Disc 2, the back cover lists "Song for Guy" as 5:02, but the actual track runs at 6:40 (the album length of the song). The same applies for "Nikita", which the back cover states for 4:53 but the actual song plays at 5:44. "I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That" is the radio single edit (4:00) instead of the back cover's album cut listing of 4:33.
B-sides
| Song | Format |
|---|---|
| "Medicine Man" | "You Gotta Love Someone" 7"/12"/CD (UK) |
| "Medicine Man" (with Adamski) | "You Gotta Love Someone" 12"/CD (UK) |
| "Made for Me" | "Easier to Walk Away" 12"/CD (UK) |
| "I Swear I Heard the Night Talkin'" | "Easier to Walk Away" 7"/12"/CD (UK) "You Gotta Love Someone" 7" (France) |
Music video compilation
- "Your Song" (Top of the Pops 1971 live version)
- "Daniel" (Top of the Pops 1973 live version)
- "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (Top of the Pops 1973 live version)
- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee)
- "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (BBC Live Christmas Show version)
- "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long Long Time)" (live at Wembley 1977 version)
- "Blue Eyes"
- "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
- "I'm Still Standing"
- "Kiss the Bride"
- "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
- "Passengers"
- "Nikita"
- "Wrap Her Up"
- "Candle in the Wind" (live in Australia 1986 version)
- "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (live in Prince's Trust 1987 version)
- "I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That"
- "Philadelphia Freedom" (live in Verona 1989 version)
- "Sacrifice"
- "You Gotta Love Someone"
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[30] | 6× Platinum | 420,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[31] | 3× Platinum | 150,000* |
| Belgium (BRMA)[32] | 3× Platinum | 150,000* |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[33] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[34] | Gold | 25,000[34] |
| France (SNEP)[35] | Diamond | 2,300,000[36] |
| Germany (BVMI)[37] | 2× Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[38] | Platinum | 450,000[38] |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[39] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[40] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[41] | Platinum | 100,000[41] |
| Spain (Promusicae)[42] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
| Sweden (GLF)[43] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[44] | 4× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[4] | 9× Platinum | 2,700,000^ |
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* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||