Elton John is a slut. He’ll play for anyone, if they pay him enough. He proved that when played for this fathead homophobe’s wedding. But at least he got a million dollars of the radio-hack’s dough.
But in addition to being a slut, he’s a damn fine songwriter. My personal favorite EJ album is Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Someone Saved My Life Tonight gives me chills.
Here’s my ten favorite Elton covers . . .
10. Take Me To the Pilot-The Quiet. This is like Van Morrison doing the song.
9. Bennie and the Jets-Animal Liberation Orchestra.
8. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road-Keane
7. Daniel-Ari Heist. Another performer who few folks know about, but who knocks it out of the park every time.
6. Rocket Man-Bill Janovitz. Slow and gentle. It’s not so much what Bill does with it, it’s what Bill does with every song he covers. Tremendous performer.
5. Bennie and the Jets-The Beastie Boys.
4. Rocket Man-My Morning Jacket. The perfect band for this oft-covered song.
http://player.groovebat.com/player.swf
3. Tiny Dancer-The Foo Fighters.
http://player.groovebat.com/player.swf
2. Ryan Adams and Elton himself, live at the Grand Ole Opry. If you haven’t heard the whole show, you owe it to yourself to go here and enjoy it. It’s from back when Ryan was at the height of his powers, and the two of them alternate doing each others songs. Here’s a taste:
Tiny Dancer (Ryan and Elton)
http://player.groovebat.com/player.swf
1. Bill Shatner.
And for those of you who stick with my posts, and read ’em all the way through, here’s a zip file of all the songs mentioned above.
