Elton does entire "Captain Fantastic" not entirely.

If you're going to issue a press release that says the following;

Elton is commemorating the event not only with the release of the expanded, two-CD Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy - Deluxe Edition (Island/UMe), but also by performing a series of historic sold-out concerts on September 16 and 17 at TD Banknorth Garden, Boston and September 21, 23 and 24 at Madison Square Garden, New York where included in the repertoire he will perform the album in its entirety for the first time in over 30 years.

You should then do just that. Last night Elton omitted "Writing" and "Tower Of Babel" from the 30th Anniversary celebration concert. Doesn't make much sense but we talking about Elton. Lets hope he drops "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" and "Daniel" or maybe two of the Peachtree Road songs and adds back the two CF songs missing last night. Here is the complete setlist;

Weight of The World
Porch Swing on Tupelo
Answer In The Sky
Turn Out The Lights When You Leave
My Elusive Drug
They Call Her The Cat
Freaks In Love
All That I'm Allowed
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Bitter Fingers
Tell Me When the Whistle Blows
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Meal Ticket
Better Off Dead
We All Fall In Love Sometimes/Curtains
Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Bennie and the Jets
Daniel
Take Me to The Pilot
Rocket Man
I Guess That's Why The Call it the Blues
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
Tiny Dancer
Philadelphia Freedom
Sad Songs
Levon
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
The Bitch Is Back
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
Crocodile Rock
Your Song

MSG Katrina Benefit on Pay-Per-View

From the AP:

Pay-Per-View Televising Katrina Concert

By Associated Press
September 16, 2005, 9:29 AM EDT

NEW YORK -- An upcoming benefit concert at Madison Square Garden for those affected by Hurricane Katrina will be available live on pay-per-view television.

Major cable operators will give all proceeds to support the long-term relief and rebuilding efforts on the Gulf Coast, it was announced Thursday. The telecast, which will be available at a cost of $19.95 to viewers, will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. (EDT).

The "Big Apple to the Big Easy" concert will feature performers including Simon & Garfunkel, Jimmy Buffett, Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, Bette Midler, Elvis Costello, John Fogerty and Diana Krall. New Orleans natives the Neville Brothers and the Meters will also play.

All money raised through sponsorship and ticket sales will go to various relief funds. MSG has also pledged a $1 million donation.

The show will also extend across the city to Radio City Music Hall, where Dave Matthews, Tom Waits, Trey Anastasio, John Mayer and others will perform.
The participating cable operators are Adelphia, Cablevision, Charter, EchoStar's DISH Network and DIRECTV, along with iN DEMAND partners Bright House Networks, Comast, Cox Communications and Time Warner cable systems.

"Captain Fantastic" Deluxe Edition release NOT delayed in the US

Universal may have pushed the release date of "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" Deluxe Edition back by as much as one month. HMC.uk.co has a release date of 10-10-05 while amazon.uk.co has 09-19-05. In the US, CD Universe and Amazon.com are still showing 09-13-05. The reasons for the delay, if true, are most likely due to the recreation of the orginal artwork that came with the album when it was released in 1975.

UPDATE 9/12: EltonJohn.com is still reporting that the US release for the 30th Anniversary "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" Deluxe Edition is September 13th in the US. Here are the release dates I have been able to find;

US: 9-13-05
UK: 10-10-05 from HMV.co.uk and WhatRecords.com
UK: 09-19-05 from Amazon.co.uk

UPDATE2: Jim McKay of the 22nd-row picked up a copy of the CFDE on Saturday and is loving it. So there is no delay in the US.

Elton John and others to perform at Katrina Benefit on September 20

Elton, Fats among perfomers at Katrina benefit
By Jonathan Cohen
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Big names such as Elton John and Rod Stewart will team up with some of New Orleans' most notable musicians, including recently rescued veterans Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint, during a September 20 benefit for victims of Hurricane Katrina at Madison Square Garden.The concert, dubbed "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy," will also feature Jimmy Buffett, Stevie Nicks, Lenny Kravitz, Bette Midler, John Fogerty, Loggins & Mussina and Earth, Wind & Fire. New Orleans will additionally be represented by the Neville Brothers, the Original Meters and the Dirty Dozen and Rebirth Brass Bands.In addition to underwriting the show, Madison Square Garden will donate $1 million to Katrina-related fundraising efforts. All proceeds from the event will benefit like-minded causes. Tickets go on sale September 13.Reuters/Billboard

"Captain Fantastic" Deluxe Edition sound samples

"Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" Deluxe Edition comes out Tuesday 9/13/05. You can hear sound samples of the June 1975 Wembley Stadium concert at the Tower Records site.

Elton John performs for 200,000 in Rome

Elton performed a free concert before a crowd of 200,000 people in Rome on Saturday night 9/3.

Associated Press

ROME — Elton John played the piano and delighted hundreds of thousands of fans with old hits such as "Daniel" at a concert outside the Colosseum on Saturday night.

People of all ages clapped and danced at the free concert on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the large boulevard that leads to the Colosseum and is lined with ancient Roman relics.

Fans included families with babies, and security officials estimated the crowd at 200,000. Some had been there since dawn to grab good spots.

"We like him very much, he's a great one, there's nothing else to say," said Sara Stanghetti, 18, who came with four friends.

Francesca Savina, 23, who said she started listening to John because her parents did, left home at early in the afternoon to make sure she could get a good view of the singer.

Some took a more modest view of the event. "I would not have paid a lot of money to see Elton John," said Daniele Casale, 29.

John performed in Italy for the first time in 1973, according to a release from the Rome municipality.

"I love places that have an incredible history," John said in taped remarks that were released to news organizations before the concert. "I love the Italian way of life, I love the food, I love the people, I love the attitudes of Italians."

Last year, a Simon and Garfunkel concert on the same stage drew hundreds of thousands of fans. In 2003, Paul McCartney also performed on the Via dei Fori Imperiali.

The setlist courtesy Elton's Dark Diamond;

Pinball Wizard
Bennie and the Jets
Daniel
Turn the Lights Out When You Leave
Take Me To The Pilot
Rocket Man
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Sacrifice
Candle In The Wind (solo)
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Are You Ready For Love
Philadelphia Freedom
They Call Her The Cat
Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
I'm Still Standing
The Bitch is Back
Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
Crocodile Rock
Your Song

Hard-Fi ? Oh, Hard-Fi !

In an article on the alleged music news site Contact Music, some group called Hard-Fi has criticised Elton for his recent duet's with 2Pac and Pete Doherty. Someone should explain to these good people that if any one is to blame for "Ghetto Gospel" it is Eminem who sampled Elton's 1971 song "Indian Sunset" and that Elton had little, if anything, to do with it. And as for the Pete Doherty duet at Live 8, well the performance speaks for itself.

Elton talks with Billboard about his future

An interview with Elton John appears in Billboard magazine in which Elton talks about his future projects. Among the highlights are;

"Captain Fantastic and The Kid"
Elton and Bernie are writing a sequel to "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" called "Captain Fantastic and the Kid" which will pick up where "Captain Fantastic" left off. It will be released on March 20, 2007, five days before Elton's 60th birthday. Recording starts this January.

"Elton's Christmas Party"
A collection of Elton's favorite Christmas music by other artists, plus a new duet with Elton and Joss Stone available only at Starbucks. This is due in two months on November 8.

Broadway production of "Billy Elliott" is due in 2006

Lestat debuts in December in San Francisco and on Broadway in Spring.

Elton has written nine songs with Scissors Sisters marking the first time he has written songs in the same room with his collaborator.

Elton helps out an old friend

Elton John plays piano on the title track of old friend Cindy Bullens new album Dream #29. Cindy got her first real break when she crashed a studio party and met Elton John, who was impressed enough to hire Cindy as a backup singer on his US tour. Cindy sang with Elton on three major tours, as well as the multi-platinum album Blue Moves, and on his 1976 No. 1 Pop single "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart."

It all started today in 1970.

On August 25th, 1970, Elton John made his U.S. debut at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles. The performance kicked off a brief tour and led to a recording contract with MCA.

Some interesting facts and quotes from that night courtesy of Paul Mclauchlan's Cornflakes and Classics;

Elton was wearing a beard, bell-bottom jeans and a red shirt with "Rock And Roll" spelt in white letters. Elton was co-headliner with David Ackles. The set lasted about an hour. Leon Russell was in the audience. Elton played nightly through August 30.

The photo used for the Honky Chateau album cover was taken backstage on this night.

Robert Hilburn wrote in the August 27th Los Angeles Times:

Rejoice. Rock music which has been going through a rather uneventful period recently, has a new star. He's Elton John, a 23-year-old Englishman,whose debut Tuesday night at the Troubadour was, in almost every way, magnificent.
... His music is so staggeringly original that it is obvious he is not merely operating within a given field (such as country or blues or rock) but, like Randy Newman and Laura Nyro among others, creating his own field... He has, to be sure, borrowed from country, rock, blues, folk and other influences, but he has mixed them in his own way. The resulting songs are so varied in texture that his work defies classificatlon . . .
While his voice most often resembles Jose Feliciano, there are at times touches of Leon Russell and Mick Jagger...
John's songs are co-written by lyricist Bernie Taupin, whose lyrics often capture the same timeless, objective spirit of the Band's Robbie Robertson . . .
Beyond his vocals, melodies and arrangements there is a certain sense of the absurd . . . that is reminiscent of the American rock stars of the mid-1950s . . .
By the end of the evening, there was no question about John's talent and potential.
Tuesday night at The Troubadour was just the beginning. He's going to be one of rock's biggest and most important stars.

Kathy Orloff, Chicago Sun Times:

"He was a major star before the end of his first set."
"The future seems incredibly bright for John."

John L. Wasserman, San Fransisco Chronicle

"He had hardly opened his mouth when it was apparent that he is going to be a very, very big star."

John Gibson, Holywood Reporter

"It's not often that someone gets a standing ovation at the Troubadour, but Elton John did - twice."

In 1990 Rolling Stone Magazine rated this show as amoung the twenty concerts that changed rock and roll.

"Lestat" to premiere in San Francisco on Dec 17.

See this article in the Chicago Tribune.

Sanctuary not on solid ground?

It seems that Elton's new label Sanctuary is not exactly on stable ground right now.

LONDON (Reuters) - Music group Sanctuary (SGP.L: Quote, Profile, Research), home to artists ranging from Axl Rose to Elton John, warned of further deterioration to its trading conditions on Tuesday and said that key buy-out talks had fallen through.

Shares, which stood at 42 pence at the beginning of the summer, continued their slide, falling 35 percent to 11-1/4 pence by 0839 GMT (9:39 a.m. British time) -- their lowest point in more than 13 years.

The company said it has obtained waivers and amendments to its financial covenants, and increased some of its bank facilities to 120 million pounds. It has also obtained waivers and amendments to its outstanding 30 million pounds of convertible loan notes.

"Trading has remained difficult, which, together with the operational constraints placed on the business during this time, seems likely to result in a further deterioration of the results for the full year," the company said in a statement.

Sanctuary said in June that it was in talks with an outside party that could result in a bid for part or all of the company, but it said on Tuesday that those particular discussions were "unlikely to lead to an offer at or near to the current share price".

Sanctuary is the world's biggest independent music label and a major player in artist management, touring and merchandising.

A period of rapid growth saw it buy up several large artist-management companies, but problems at units such as Sanctuary Urban -- headed by Mathew Knowles, father and manager of singer Beyonce -- have hit a sour note in recent months, including a profit warning in June.

Sanctuary said that discussions are continuing with several other parties which could lead to "a range of possible transactions including a possible offer for the company".

The company has held talks with EMI (EMI.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Warner Music Group (WMG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and several private-equity and venture-capital groups about a potential investment, asset sale or buy-out, according to sources familiar with the situation.

"While we are relieved that Sanctuary has renegotiated some its covenants, we believe the situation remains highly risky until Sanctuary provides some evidence of being able to pay down debt, perhaps through a disposal of some of its music catalogue," the media team at Numis Securities said in a research note.

"Captain Fantastic" Deluxe Edition, a little more news

This is from MusicTap.net with the new information bolded;

There was some doubt after our announcement of a Deluxe Edition for Elton John's Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, which was Elton's first album to enter Billboard at # 1 with 7 weeks of staying power at that point. The RIAA awarded triple-platinum album housed some important Elton John tunes like "Someone Saved My Life Tonight." The album metaphorically relates the journey of Elton (Captain Fantastic) and his long-time collaborator, Bernie Taupin (Brown Dirt Cowboy). Just a few weeks after the release of this album, Elton John played a show at London's Wembley Stadium (June 21, 1975) during the Midsummer Music Festival. This show was the first and only time that Elton played the entirety of Captain Fantastic to a throng of 100,000 fans, discussing each song before playing it, providing significant insight into the entire album. This show, remixed, is the addition (along with a few other goodies) to this 30th Anniversary reissue of one of Elton's best performing albums. Not only will the concert be included, alongside Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, remastered and containing a bonus addition of "House of Cards," the B-side to "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," as well as the inclusion of "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds," "One Day At a Time," and "Philadelphia Freedom" found on the last reissue. The entire set is released in the original artwork and packaging from the LP era. The songs, "Pinball Wizard" and "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" are on the live set after the Captain Fantastic performance. The included booklet will contain an intoduction by Bernie Taupin as well as new liner notes. Elton John will re-perform the entire album in concerts at NYC's Madison Square Garden and Boston's Fleet Center just days after the release of this celebratory 30th Anniversary Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy. Turns out we were right!!

UPDATE: ICE Magazine reports that Greg Penny worked on the Captain Fantastic Deluxe Edition mixing the June 1975 Wembley show for the first time. Its also possible for the September 13 date could be pushed a week or two for non-musical reasons. They are trying to faithfully recreate the LP-era artwork and that could delay the release.

"Ghetto Gospel" - 2Pac featuring Elton debuts at #1 in Australia

The attraction to this abomination using the sample from "Indian Sunset" continues in Australia as "Ghetto Gospel" debuts at #1.

Britt/John duet on the charts

Billboard Country Chart, moves up 5 to #38 w/bullet.
Radio and Records Country Chart, down one to #41 but still w/bullet.

Britt/John duet chart positions

Billboard Country Chart, remains at #43 w/bullet.
Radio and Records Country Chart, up two to #40 w/bullet.

Excellent interview in the Daily Telegraph

Check it out here.

Another case of creative writing by the music media

Contact Music, not exactly the bastion of truth has this headline for an article about the split of "supergroup" Blue.

Blue - Webbe Blames Elton For Blue Split

However this quote from Simon Webbe can be found in that very same article;

Webbe explains, "We decided to have a break because Sir Elton told us: 'You have a certain amount of longevity in the business. If you keep releasing pop albums as Blue you'll go stale.'

"His comments made sense. He's a legend with almost 40 years in the business. I realised it would be best to take time out.

I'm sorry but sounds like they made the decision on their own after considering some friendly advice from Elton.

Another example of the media turning Elton into the villian when in fact its a non-story about a group that no one really cares about anyway.

Elton John, Tom Petty and My Morning Jacket head up "Elizabethtown" Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the new Cameron Crowe film "Elizabethtown" is due on September 13 and is headed up by tracks from Elton John and Tom Petty as well as My Morning Jacket. See the Billboard article here.
An extended trailer for the film set to Elton's "My Fathers Gun" can be seen here.

More praise for Britt/John duet

This from Billboard;

CATHERINE BRITT & ELTON JOHN
Where We Both Say Goodbye
Producer(s): Keith Stegall
Writer(s): C. Britt, J. Salley
Publisher(s): EMI Australia, BMI; ForaySea Keeper, SESAC
Genre: COUNTRY
Label/Catalog Number: RCA (CD promo)
Source: Billboard Magazine
Originally Reviewed: August 13, 2005

You would not expect Elton John to turn up on a fiddle and steel guitar-drenched traditional country weeper, but hey, that is what friends are for. The veteran pop star lends his signature voice to this second single from Aussie newcomer Catherine Britt. John became a fan after buying the teen's album during a tour of Australia, and it is easy to see why he was so impressed. It is obvious Britt has been influenced by such legends as Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn, but she pays homage to the greats without imitating. She co-wrote this aching ballad with one of Music Row's greatest veteran tunesmiths, Jerry Salley. The two have crafted a heartbreaking ode to a relationship's demise. John lends it star treatment, but Britt is the most promising Aussie import since Keith Urban.—DEP