Track Listing

1. Funeral for a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding)
2. Candle in the Wind
3. Bennie and the Jets
4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
5. This Song Has No Title
6. Grey Seal
7. Jamaica Jerk Off
8. I've Seen That Movie Too
9. Sweet Painted Lady
10. Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-1934)
11. Dirty Little Girl
12. All the Girls Love Alice
13. Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n Roll)
14. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
15. Roy Rogers
16. Social Disease
17. Harmony

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1590 in Music
• Released on: 1996-02-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Album Description
Japanese special edition of this classic original album re-released on CD and packaged in a 12 x 12 inch album sized LP replica sleeve with all the original artwork and tracks. Universal. 2005.

Amazon.com essential recording
Rarely mentioned as one of the great double albums, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road had to settle for ending up in a few million record collections. So sprawling that it doesn't quite measure up to the earlier, more laid-back Honky Chateau or the later, pushy Rock of the Westies, this still holds claim to a lot of brilliant, very pop-savvy music: the winking rebellion of "Bennie and the Jets" and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," the ready-made nostalgia of "The Ballad of Danny Bailey," the downbeat melodicism of "Harmony." --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Even hardcore Elton fans will agree, this is his topper
By 1973, Elton John & Bernie Taupin had already logged enough hits to become a part of rock history, but even as their fanbase continued to grow, they hadn't yet reached their peak. When HONKY CHATEAU became Elton's first #1 album in 1972, it proved that he was not just someone FM radio played all the time, even AM listeners (and the biggest single-buyers) had taken notice as well. Continuing with the breakneck pace of his early `70s days, Elton turned up DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER early in '73 & won his first #1 single with "Crocodile Rock". Whether or not, Elton & Bernie had a sudden burst of creativity or wanted to give their fans more bang for their buck, they decided to make the next LP a double, which as rock history has dictated many times before, is almost a no-win situation. Rarely has a double album been great with every single song & needless to say, Elton & Bernie's certainly wasn't. But even their lesser songs were still darn good, making GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD not only their crowning achievement, but a good example of how a double album should be made.

Right from the grandiose opener, Elton & Bernie certainly did their homework on the ways of a double album. "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" shows the influence of progressive rock on music of the time with its spacey synthesizer intro (not done by Elton) before leading into the piano-pounding rocker that details the end of a love affair in musical terms. Naturally, this had to have made one hell of an opener in Elton's concerts of this period & even when you just listen to it now, you can almost hear the possibilities for a stage performance of this song.

After that opening, ROAD takes the listener on many twists & turns through just about every conceivable genre of music that inspired Elton & Bernie throughout their careers up until that point. They namecheck reggae on "Jamaica Jerk-Off" (which sure is catchy, but not one you listen to a lot), R&B on the #1 hit "Bennie & The Jets" (it was also a hit on R&B stations, as well), Stones-based rock & misogyny on "Dirty Little Girl", more prog rock on the Yes-inspired "Grey Seal" & 1950s rock on "Your Sister Can't Twist [But She Can Rock & Roll]" (best when played as a segue to "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"). Occasionally, some songs sound better musically than lyrically, but you'd be a fool not to enjoy yourself either way.

But through all the genre experiments, there are still the perfect melodies & intelligent lyrics that have always been Elton & Bernie's fortes & ROAD still has plenty of those to spare. These include the #2 hit title track, the Marilyn Monroe tribute "Candle In The Wind" (a song that sounds good in both versions, believe it or not!), the heartbreaking closer "Harmony" (which has just that, beautiful harmonies equal to the Beach Boys) & cinematic epics like "I've Seen That Movie Too", "Ballad Of Danny Bailey [1909-34]" & "Roy Rogers".

Even with the hectic schedule Elton & Bernie put themselves on back in the 1970s, maybe a panoramic statement like GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD didn't seem all that impossible. But the fact it was Elton's second album of the year made it all the more astounding. With 3 major hit singles (the title track, "Bennie & The Jets" & "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting") & considerable airplay for about all the other songs on here, ROAD's runaway success was more than justified. While the follow-up would indicate maybe the duo had written themselves out, GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD still showed Elton John & Bernie Taupin at the top of their respective games & even today, it's something they should still be enormously proud of.

One Of Rock's Greatest Albums
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has to be the most quintessential Elton John album. It's the one mentioned and talked about the most. It should be. It is the best double album. Although, in today's world, this 17 song collection probably wouldn't be considered a double album. It starts off with one of the greatest album openers ever, "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding". A classic all the way. This album has a number of Elton's most recognized hits - "Bennie And The Jets", The great "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", and the original, and still best, version of "Candle In The Wind". There are more great tracks here that are just as good. You get "Sweet Painted Lady", which is about prostitutes. Then you have the storysong "The Ballad Of Danny Bailey", which you wish Elton would play in concert. You get a number of great rockers like "Dirty Little Girl", "All The Young Girls Love Alice", and "Your Sister Can't Twist(But She Can Rock And Roll)", among others. But, the crowning jewel, is the highly underrated and horribly overlooked gem, "Harmony". It's the closing track and, without a doubt, the greatest Elton John song that was never a single. That's a crime if ever there was one. It's a great piece of music. The album also includes the rousing up tempo number "Grey Seal". The silliest track is a song called "Jamaica Jerk Off". It's fun and catchy, but silly. There you have it. The perfect Elton John album. The perfect rock album. This is Elton's Sgt. Pepper. A classic in every sense of the word.

That "Classic Years" tag is no hype!
This album has incredible staying power after 28 years. First off, most of the songs here are some of John/Taupin's best--not just the hits, but less known stuff like "I've Seen That Movie, Too," "Roy Rogers," "Harmony" and "Your Sister Can't Twist." Second, this is a great ALBUM---the sequencing works perfectly, particularly when the primo songs are placed in such a way as to buoy up some of the lesser material (EXAMPLE: The title track and "Grey Seal" bracket the mediocre "This Song Has No Title" and this helps give that song more bite than it probably would have in a different place in this collection). Finally, it serves to remind people what a great rock musician Elton John was. Hard to believe when you hear his current output, but this guy got down with the best of them, whether in rockers or on ballads (Elton's terrific band with Davey Johnstone on guitar, Nigel Olsson on drums and the late Dee Murray on bass sure helped him, too!). If you want to be reminded that the pre-punk Sevenites really did have their moments of pop music glory, this album will do it!