Empty Sky [Original recording remastered] [Extra tracks]

Beginning with the 8 - minute title track, "Empty Sky" is possibly Elton's most uneven album. Despite that, it still shines thanks to great songs. Songs like "Val - Hala" and "The Scaffold" show that even in 1969, Elton and Bernie's songwriting capabilites were in full bloom. The song most people will want is the original version of the now classic "Skyline Pigeon". While this version is good, in 1973, Elton rerecorded it using a piano instead of a harpsichord, and it runed to be the definitive version. Also included are three bonus tracks. "Lady Samantha" is a great acid rocker, and is know well known thanks to Three Dog Night's cover version. 'All Across The Havens" sways effortlessly, while "It's Me That You Need" is a gorgeous ballad. "Just Like Strange Rain" is another rocker.

While not as good future albums, "Empty Sky" is a great record. I suggest the purchase of it today.

If Elton only knew what was to come.

The first Elton John, though only released in the U.S. in the mid-70s, after his run of big singles was beginning to dry up, has a feeling more of cleaning up after the elephants as much as it does of leading the parade. Elton's voice, in the notable title track, the best song on the original track lineup, sounds as world-weary as it would on "Blue Moves," recorded some seven years later. The lyrics of ES are less sharp than usual, though the subjects are less the broken relationships Bernie Taupin came to write about so obsessively later in his career, and more in line with pre-teen daydreaming about Norse gods and escape. Maturation was still to come, along with the pop chops and chart-topping savvy.

There's nothing great on this collection to recommend it to a non-completist, it's a little too proggy and twee. That said, a casual fan will find worthwhile things. The melodies are pretty if unmemorable, with songs like "The Scaffold" and "Western Ford Gateway" standouts on the hummability meter. How's this for an unusual complaint for a pop record: Too much harpsichord!

The song "Empty Sky" is the major revelation, because it really showcases a different Elton than we saw performing "Your Song" the following year. It's an interesting peek at the artist behind the showman, just following his muse and trying to figure out what works, and the crunchy guitar licks are pretty sensational, though the song never quite gels in the way of a "Philadelphia Freedom" or "Benny And The Jets."

The best song on the CD is not from the original album, but "Lady Samantha," which when released as a single some months before gave Elton his first (minor) radio success. That churns and burns in Elton's characteristically pleasing manner.

If you like Elton a lot, you will like "Empty Sky." If you listen to his Greatest Hits packages once in a while and want to dig deeper, you might start with something more like "Captain Fantastic" or "Tumbleweed Connection." This is a good recording, tarnished only by the fact its maker(s) would go on to do a lot better.