Two Elton John tribute albums to be released in April, Revamp & Restoration

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by crazywater, Mar 15, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Boomy

    Boomy Senior Member

    Location:
    Indiana
    Might be a return for help on ...Like Clockwork, I don't know.
     
  2. smoke

    smoke Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Albums like this seem to cast as wide a demographic net as possible, and the benefit to Elton (royalties aside) is that people will hear some of his less well-known songs alongside the hits, and possibly check out some of the original Elton John albums. At least I think that's it...
     
  3. EddieT

    EddieT Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    Whoever has the power of attorney from him (he can't be making decisions to put this stuff out himself, surely) really isn't making 'creative' choices his actual fans (not the Hollywood celeb in crowd) are interested in. God knows what the final tour will be like. He'll probably sack his band and bring Ed Sheraaan and Lady Gaga in instead.
     
    Christopher B and fredblue like this.
  4. EddieT

    EddieT Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    Totally agree.
     
    fredblue likes this.
  5. Sigma6

    Sigma6 Forum Resident

    Location:
    BNE
  6. crazywater

    crazywater Dangerous Dreamer... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rolesville, NC
    There are extended samples on iTunes for both albums and the Restoration album sounds far superior. The only one I didn't care for much was Honky Cat by Lee Ann Womack but the rest sound pretty interesting. Even Miley's moderately countrified "The Bitch Is Back" sounded pretty good. On the Revamped album Coldplay's "We All Fall In Love Sometimes" has potential along with The Killers "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters" and Mumford and Sons "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" .

    I agree I won't be running out to purchase either album but will be streaming them on Friday to hear the full versions.
     
  7. Osato

    Osato Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Couldn't agree more.
     
  8. Hokeyboy

    Hokeyboy Nudnik of Dinobots

    Many would prefer hacking off a limb than listening to Coldplay!
     
    smilin ed and EddieT like this.
  9. Sixpence

    Sixpence Zeppelin Fan

    Location:
    Connecticut
    I prefer the original.
     
  10. Johnny Reb

    Johnny Reb Résident du forum

    Location:
    MA
    These albums are both out today. Not much worthwhile stuff on them, after having sampled them. The only one that I really liked was the Rosanne Cash/Emmylou Harris song, the rest was mediocre or worse imo.
     
    dalem5467 likes this.
  11. crazywater

    crazywater Dangerous Dreamer... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rolesville, NC
    The Restoration album from Bernie is far superior to Revamped. Of course they are not going to match the originals but they aren’t meant to. If you take that approach the albums are enjoyable enough. It probably depends most on your like or dislike of the artists themselves.
     
    Tjazz likes this.
  12. uffeolby

    uffeolby Senior Member

    Location:
    Västerås, Sweden
    I actually enjoyed the version of Take Me To The Pilot by someone I never heard of... and i agree, the Restoration country flavoured album is clearly superiour to the Revamp one.
     
  13. NiceMrMustard

    NiceMrMustard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    Are you talking "Two Rooms?" Some good covers (I liked Sting's Come Down in Time in particular) but the Beach Boys butcher of Crocodile Rock was cringe-worthy.
     
  14. Dok

    Dok Senior Member

    The Soundboard with Elton John

    Elton in one of these videos says everyone chose their own songs while Chris Stapleton says he was asked to do 'I Want Love'. :confused:
     
  15. Boomy

    Boomy Senior Member

    Location:
    Indiana
    Well I know they keep playing this new stuff and sprinkle in some original Elton at Starbucks now.

    Must be making a push for his last run
     
  16. JamesRR

    JamesRR Trashcan Dream

    Location:
    NYC
    I was more intrigued by Restoration, specifically because of the lesser-greatest hits included on it (Please, My Father's Gun, I Want Love).
    But I was disappointed in both. Revamp's covers are boring - proving how good Elton's original versions are.
    And Restoration suffered from the same problem. The covers were uninspiring.

    The only track I liked was Coldplay's cover of We All Fall in Love Sometimes. It was quiet, introspective. But these efforts often yield disappointing results.
     
  17. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    I wouldn't say that either album is great, and neither is up to the standard of the 1991 Elton tribute album, Two Rooms (and that album, despite several high points, had many weak or uninspired cuts as well).

    Both albums are saddled with too many blah covers. The songs themselves are fantastic, of course; however, most of these covers are simply uninspired. Too many of these vocalists seem to be read-singing the lyrics, with little emotional presence or passion being invested. Mumford & Sons and (somewhat surprisingly) Lady Gaga are prime offenders in this regard.

    Song selection is also an issue, particularly on Revamp. Only two of the 13 tracks are uptempo songs; the rest are ballads, which skews the perspective of Elton's career being presented and makes for a rather dull listening experience. Both albums focus too much on the hits. This is more of a missed opportunity with Restoration, I think, as there are several deep Elton John album tracks that might have worked better in country arrangements than several of the hits included here ("Take Me Back", "Strangers", "Dixie Lily", "Salvation", "Rotten Peaches", "Porch Swing in Tupelo").

    For me, the highlights are Dierks Bentley's take on "Sad Songs (Say So Much)", Willie Nelson's "Border Song", Coldplay's "We All Fall In Love Sometimes", and Alessia Cara's "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues". Q-Tip and Demi Lovoto's reading of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" brings freshness to a pretty stale song but ultimately isn't anything I'd want to hear on repeat.
     
    JamesRR likes this.
  18. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    Yep. Sting, Eric Clapton, Bruce Hornsby, George Michael, Sinead O'Connor, and Phil Collins were highlights on that album. The Beach Boys, Jon Bon Jovi, Wilson Phillips, Rod Stewart, and (surprisingly) Tina Turner were the duds. The rest were just meh.
     
  19. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    The "Restoration" album is an easier listen, mostly because, as its title suggests, its ambition is more modest. It is less about reinventing popular songs than matching the right performers to a particular song. Elton/Bernie songs can be deceptively hard to sing, but Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton, for instance, are more than up to the challenge.

    It also leans less heavily on the biggest hits which helps quiet the "I liked the original better" knee jerk responses from more casual fans. This better serves the dual purpose of these types of collections which would be to generate interest in Elton's music among fans of contemporary artists while reminding casual fans of the depth of Elton's catalog. I would say there is a third goal of interesting hardcore Elton fans in contemporary artists, but I do not want to put too much pressure on the producers. :laugh:
     
    Dok likes this.
  20. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    That was weird. I read this just now and thought, "Cool, I need to add those to my streaming library." So I headed to Amazon to add them and . . . I had already added them.

    I have no idea when I would have added them, and I have zero memory of seeing this thread or hearing about the albums prior to just now. :crazy: :whistle:
     
  21. Yovra

    Yovra Collector of Beatles Threads

    This is a more interesting list than any of the new ones!
     
  22. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    If done right tribute albums or assembled covers albums can be a joy.
    The Art Of McCartney and Mojo’s reconfiguration of Sticky (Soul) Fingers come to mind. Great stuff!
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2018
  23. tmwlng

    tmwlng Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    I would have loved...

    Sturgill Simpson - The Retreat
    Father John Misty - Honky Cat
    Billy Joel - Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)
    Jonathan Wilson - Madman Across the Water
    Pet Shop Boys - Victim of Love
    Colter Wall - Slave

    ... Or maybe just select some not-so-suspected songs to extremely popular artists. Even if I myself cannot stomach the thought of Ed Sheeran doing Pinky, this idea would have been much more intriguing.
     
  24. Witchy Woman

    Witchy Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Third Coast, USA
    I think this cover of “Sacrifice” by Don Henley and Vince Gill sounds really nice.

     
    Terrapin Station and Tjazz like this.
  25. Hjessie

    Hjessie Active Member

    Location:
    Gloucestershire
    Dok likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine