MSG Birthday Concert Tickets

Elton John's concert on March 25 at New York's Madison Square Garden go on sale at Ticketmaster on Monday January 22, 2007 @ 9AM for American Express Card holders and Monday January 29, 2007 @9AM to the general public.

EltonJohn.com also has an allocation of tickets for Rocket members. The ticket price for the Rocket tickets are approximately $300 after fees are added in.

Some updates

EJ.com is back. I am sure you know that by now

Tickets for the Elton's 60th Birthday concert in New York City on March 25 will be going for an incredible $300 for the top seats. YIKES!

Tinderbox, not yet a single in the US, although the video has made some appearances.

EJ.com has announced some changes are coming, already we have seen some evidence of this. A new and improved shop has opened up with some nice merchandise to choose from. Lets hope the Elton has a bigger presence on his official site than he has had lately.

EltonJohn.com expired?

EltonJohn.com has said that they are making some big changes over the next several weeks...

Is this one of them?

Click here

UK Pop Chart to now include download purchase.

Very interesting...

U.K. pop charts set for radical overhaul
Fri Jan 5, 2007 9:20am ET29

By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - The British pop chart will undergo one of the biggest shake-ups since its inception 54 years ago on Sunday when any song downloaded from the Internet will be able to compete for the number one single spot.

Up to now, only songs which were physically available for purchase in shops counted toward the weekly chart.

Downloads could be included, but only a week before an actual CD single went on sale and for two weeks after it stopped appearing in stores.

However, with downloads now far outstripping over-the-counter sales, the Official UK Charts Company (OCC) has changed the rules meaning this Sunday's number one could be any track whether it has been sold in stores or online.

It said the "dramatic development" would be more reflective of what music Britons were buying, and could mean that old tunes, tracks by unknown artists or unreleased songs on albums hitting the top of the charts.

"This new ruling changes the nature of a single and puts the consumer in the driving seat," said OCC director Steve Redmond.

Merry Christmas!

...and a safe and Happy New Year!

Elton's favorite record store closes it doors

The favorite stop of Elton while in NY has closed it doors for good!

Tower tumbles

Closing time for the city stores that 'loved music'

BY DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Shopper sees if there is any meat left to pick off the bones of Tower Records at Lincoln Center. The chain closes for good tonight.
Ramsey Jones says it was no big secret how Tower Records became a New York institution in its 23 years here.

"This store knew and loved music," said Jones, who has worked in the Greenwich Village Tower for 16 years. "If you came in for something, we didn't just point. We knew what it was."

He remembers the woman who would fly in from California to ask what was new and good; the deejay from Spain who would drop a grand or two on jazz records that Jones recommended.

"He spent so much, we gave him a discount," Jones said. "But that's how it was here. People trusted us."

Whatever the bond, it ends tonight when the chain that opened in California in 1960 and came to New York in 1983 locks all its doors for good and takes a good-sized chunk of an era with it.

Jones, a musician who has played on records by artists including Wu-Tang Clan, looked over the carcass that remained - a jumble of empty racks and a handful of movies and CDs that are quickly running out of time.

A DVD of "Hot Rod Top 10" is marked $3.99. A Lee Greenwood "God Bless the USA" CD is 80% off. A DMX poster is $10. Cassettes are a penny.

Peppy dance hits play in the background over WNEW-FM, which 15 years ago was sending listeners to Tower to buy rock 'n' roll.

Tower Records stores - the Lincoln Center outlet as well as the one at Broadway and E.Fourth St. - were a crossroads and a New York destination.

They weren't stores people wandered into because they were in the neighborhood. They rode subways to get there, and the yellow Tower bag with the bright-red block letters was as distinctive in this world as a baby-blue Tiffany's box on Fifth Ave.

Friday night at 11:30 in Tower Records was like Macy's at noon on a sale day, and it was rarely a crowd that wanted to grab the new Elton John album and bolt. These were folks who worked their way down a rack of records.

"You didn't just get what you heard on the radio here," said Jones. "You could find things the radio never played. People would say they liked something and ask what else I thought they might like. They were adventurous. I see less of that now."

Tower had its detractors, people who saw it bashing down the gates for megastores that have put so many independents and specialty stores out of business.

But artists liked it, especially the kind of emerging and nonmainstream artists who used to play the Bottom Line, a wonderful club a block west of the downtown store.

"Tower would carry their music," said Bottom Line co-owner Allan Pepper. "Tower would take the chance."

The Bottom Line is gone now, too, and Jones thinks the loss of Tower reflects erosion in our broader culture.

"Record companies don't care about music any more," he says. "It's all marketing. 'Get me somebody who looks like this.' It doesn't matter if they have nothing to say. They just have to look right in the video.

"Music means so much more than that. And now we're losing another place where it did."

Elton to host Diana Concert

20 DECEMBER 2006

Music legend Elton John may be doing more than belting out the hits at the Diana Memorial Concert in July next year. According to reports, the singer has been asked by Prince William and Prince Harry to compere the event, introducing the acts and hosting the show.

Speaking at Monday night's premiere of partner David Furnish's film It's A Girl Boy Thing, Elton explained: "They said there could be a role for me doing the MC bit by linking it all together, and asked whether I would mind doing it - which of course I don't! William and Harry are going to be choosing all the acts, but I will help out in any which way."

Sir Elton also revealed that - if the Princes requested it - he would perform the song he wrote for Diana's funeral, Candle In The Wind.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be performing at this great event. Diana was a personal friend and someone I greatly admired for her tireless and enthusiastic work for charity."

"Tinderbox" next US Single?

At MLB.com there is a "Exclusive World Premiere Video" for Elton's "Tinderbox" which may indicate it will be released as the 2nd single off of "The Captain & The Kid". Here is a screen capture of the page. You may have to hit refresh a few times if it doesn't show up upon initially visiting the site.

MSG show in March confirmed?

According to this NY Post article it is...

ELTON'S BET GOT LENNON THROUGH THE NIGHT

By DAN AQUILANTE
PrintEmailStory Bottom

December 11, 2006 -- ONE of Madison Square Garden's most famous gigs started as a simple bet.

In early 1974, John Lennon agreed to sit in on guitar for his pal Elton John's covers of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and Lennon's solo song "One Day at a Time."

In return, Elton John and his band were featured on Lennon's "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," a song in which Lennon had little confidence. In the biography "Lennon," he is quoted as saying, "It would be nice, but it's not a No. 1."

Elton knew better and bet Lennon that if his song made it to the No. 1 Billboard slot, Lennon would have to end his seclusion and join him onstage at his Thanksgiving gig at the Garden.

Lennon lost the bet but won anyway - scoring his first solo No. 1 song since The Beatles' breakup. And then he made good on the wager.

He sat in with Elton and his band for a three-song set on Nov. 28, 1974 - a concert that, tragically, turned out to be Lennon's final public performance before his death six years later at the hands of a deranged assassin.

The concert is honored as one of Madison Square Garden's 50 Greatest Moments on the MSG Network tomorrow night at 9.

At that special Garden party, Lennon was an emotional wreck: harassed by the Nixon administration that wanted to deport him for a past drug charge, estranged from Yoko Ono and waffling as a solo artist.

Elton wanted him to perform "Imagine," but Lennon turned him down, saying, "I don't want to come on like Dean Martin, doing my classic hits."

Instead, Lennon said, "I wanted to have some fun and play some rock 'n' roll." He and Elton settled on "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" and The Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There."

In fact, Lennon did see her standing there. Yoko Ono was in the 11th row watching. Hearing those songs and seeing Lennon in his glory again helped rekindle their relationship.

While Lennon wouldn't return to the Garden, Elton did - many, many times. He holds the record for having played the most sold-out concerts by an individual artist: 59.

And come this March, when he turns 60, Elton is scheduled to celebrate his 60th gig in rock's cathedral.

"Tinderbox" video on YouTube

The video for "Tinderbox" Elton's next UK (and hopefully US) single is now up on YouTube, a great video of archival footage of Elton and Bernie, somewhat reminiscent of the "Free As A Bird" video done for the Beatles;

Another reason why "The Bridge" was a poor choice for lead single...

If the rumors are true and Elton is planning to release a piano & vocal only album to coincide with his 60th birthday celebrations in March 2007, then that makes "The Bridge" even bigger blunder on Universal's part than I originally thought it was.

With all of the fantastic songs on "The Captain & The Kid" Universal chose to release an Elton ballad, no surprise, and the worst track on the album. A good song, just not a great song. They could have gone the uptempo route, they had a few to choose from. They could have chose a power ballad like "Tinderbox" or country tinged track like the title cut, which would have been good promotion for the album too.

But no, we get a typical Elton ballad that happens to be a piano and vocal only track. It does moderately well on the charts barely reaching the Top 20. And it also happens to be the same style music that Elton is rumored to be working for his next album. So when and if a single is released from the next album it will have a very familiar sound. It will also be ignored by radio and listeners as "another Elton ballad." So Universal has killed "The Captain & The Kid" with no promotion and are now working on destroying the next album before its even out. Way to go!

It's been suggested in Elton discussion forums that he needs to leave Universal and start his own label. I agree 100% Universal is doing nothing for him. He couldn't do any worse himself. So how about it Elton?

UPDATE: It appears that Mercury (Universal) has not given up yet, Tinderbox is slated to be the second single in the UK with a released date of 12/12. Is the US next? Hello, Universal!!!! ????

Come on, it was a joke!

Elton's agent has responded to questions about his profanity laced tirade against Universal that it was just a big joke. Of course it was, we all knew that already, didn't we?
Gary Farrow says;

“I think you’ll find it [the fifteen reported uses of the word ‘fuck’] was tongue-in-cheek about the record company,”

Yeah, right, sure it was.

Joke or not, Universal's marketing and promotion of "The Captain & The Kid" has been atrocious from the beginning with appearances on all of the usual boring suspects (Ellen, Leno and such) to absolutely no creative placement of the album such as in Starbucks where Elton's Christmas album performed so well, to the terrible choice for the lead single. And who knows if they will even bother with a second single since the "The Bridge" has been floundering in the lower half of the Top 20.

Universal could actually try something new and different with the next single release. Why don't they take 3-4 songs from the album and push all of them to radio and say "here ya go, have at it, play whatever you want". At least that way programmers have a choice and perhaps radio listeners will be exposed to more than just one song TC&TK. It's worth a try. That's if Universal even cares anymore.

Elton to Universal: "Please drop me."

Elton took out his frustration on Universal Records and the lack of promotion for his new album "The Captain & The Kid" during his two shows at Long Island's Nassau Coliseum;

"This new album has gotten some of the best reviews of my career, and my record company has done absolutely nothing," John complained midway through the show. "They're useless. Here's a message to Universal Records: Please drop me. Just let me go somewhere else."

Another quote;

"Nobody would know (the album has been out since September). My record label isn't doing anything to help. F**k Universal. Please drop me. I'm 58 and I don't care anymore."

And another;

"I'm going to play a song, but I'm sure you haven't heard it because the f**kers haven't promoted it," Elton said to the crowd about his new tune, "Postcards From Richard Nixon."

Elton splits with manager

Merck Mercuriadis has split ties with Elton John. According to a statement issued on behalf of John's management company Twenty-First Artists, Mercuriadis has stepped down by "mutual agreement" from duties tending to the creative side of the veteran singer/songwriter's career.

As a result of the move, creative management services will be handled by Johnny Barbis in the United States, and Clive Banks in the United Kingdom and rest of the world.

Mercuriadis continues as an artist manager within Twenty-First Artists' parent company Sanctuary Group, overseeing artists including Axl Rose and Morrissey.

John turned to Mercuriadis -- formerly CEO of Sanctuary Records -- to manage the creative side of his career after John and his partners sold Twenty-First Artists to the Sanctuary Group for $30.1 million (Billboard, April 16).

John co-founded London-based Twenty-First with Frank Presland and Keith Bradley. Presland was appointed CEO of Sanctuary Group following Andy Taylor's dismissal from the post on May 26.

Report: Billboard SoundScan Released With Incomplete Data?

It appears that Best Buy sales data may not have made it into the Billboard/Soundscan charts for this week...

Billboard SoundScan Released With Incomplete Data?

September 27, 2006

Before you dive into this week's Billboard SoundScan sales numbers, keep in mind that the chart was likely released without information from retail giant Best Buy. Yesterday (9/26), SoundScan alerted all paid subscribers via email that the numbers for the week may be inaccurate and that they will "extrapolate" for the missing sales data. The company also warned clients to be "advised that there may be anomalies in the data for the week ending 9/24/06."

SoundScan did not indicate what retail information was missing, but two record companies indicated to FMQB that data seems to show Best Buy's sales data was not included. SoundScan would not confirm this with either company.

One company explained the missing data to its staff like this: "Soundscan weighted the other retailers in each market to estimate market sales for the week. Don't 'add in' additional sales. There will be aberrations based on some titles that Best Buy may do better with but the totals have been supplemented already. SoundScan will repost everything if Best Buy can get their data in a timely fashion. Since Best Buy ran sales on most of the new titles, debuts could be smaller than actual size."

In a press release, Megaforce Records questioned why it is paying $26,000 a year to receive sales numbers from SoundScan, stating: "Shouldn't it be SoundScan's job to report the actual sales numbers, not a guessing game?" Megaforce is concerned over a debut by Mushroomhead on the SoundScan chart that shows only 12,183 units sold when another sales tracking company had them selling closer to 26,000.

"The Captain & The Kid" US & UK debuts

Elton John's new album "The Captain & The Kid" has debuted on the UK chart at #6. See here. The album also debuted at #18 in the US on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart.

My review of "The Captain & The Kid"

In 2001 "Songs From The West Coast" was definitely a return to form, albeit a somewhat contrived return. Yes the songs were brilliant and the album was met with critical acclaim. Yet to me it always sounded a bit like Elton trying to sound like the old Elton.

With "The Captain and The Kid" Elton has accomplished something that I did not believe possible. He has produced an album, figuratively and literally, that can proudly stand next to all of Elton's classic 70s albums. Nothing Elton does will ever match those 70s albums, call it the "curse of the classics" as someone recently coined the phrase on the forum. Even if some future album does equal or surpass any of those 70s album the critics and the fans would never admit it. "The Captain and The Kid" comes as close as Elton will ever come to accomplishing that feat.

From the 45 second opening piano intro on "Postcards From Richard Nixon" you immediately sense that this album is different. You get the feeling that Elton is on to something and that he knows it. The track, about Elton and Bernie's arrival in the USA, has a country feel to it similar to the title track from the original album. Next in line is "Just Like Noah's Ark" which also mirrors the original with similar subject matter. It is arguably one of the more enjoyable uptempo tracks that Elton has recorded lately taking some inspiration from the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar."

Elton's self-proclaimed love song to New York City is "Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)" with its beautiful melody and vocal from Elton along with majestic and soaring background vocals. The line "no matter what might happen, you'll never sink this ship" makes you think of the way New York and New Yorkers came back so strong after 9/11 as well as referring to Elton and Bernie as survivors. "Tinderbox" chronicles Elton's fall from grace with lyrics like "but a wind of change blew across our sales." Easily this track could be the next single.

The gem of the set is "...And The House Fell Down" featuring some of the best funky piano playing from Elton on record in quite some time. The song is the most uptempo Elton has been in a long time and also contains what could be what an Elton hip-hop record may sound like with an Elton-rap on the bridge. This is a track that I did not think Elton still had in him and proves to any doubting Thomas's that the guy still can surprise even fans of 35 years.

The album doesn't disappoint the ballad lovers with one of the most emotional vocals ever from Elton on "Blues Never Fade Away." A song about the loss of friends and loved ones that asks the question "how did we get so lucky?" References to Ryan White and John Lennon only make the track more powerful.

Probably the weakest track on the album was chosen as the lead single. "The Bridge is a song about decisions, life altering ones. This song serves as a bridge to the final three songs that are about Elton and Bernie looking back at their careers and lives. "I Must Have Lost It On The Wind" and "Old '67" could both fit perfectly on Tumbleweed Connection or Honky Chateau.

The final track "The Captain and The Kid" serves as a love letter to the fans by lifting the intro from the original title track and using it in the album closer creating a 30 year old bookend.

Yes Elton has done the impossible, created an album that comes as close as possible to the 70s classics without being one.

Or did he?

"The Captain & The Kid" released today!

Elton's new album "The Captain & The Kid" is officially released today. It is available in several different formats. From EltonJohn.com these formats are;

The album is released in three formats:
* Limited edition vinyl with a gatefold sleeve and full -size booklets
* Enhanced cd album
* CD/DVD
Here is the track listing for each format.

1) Vinyl LP Record

Side 1
1. Postcards From Richard Nixon
2. Just Like Noah's Ark
3. Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)
4. Tinderbox
5. ...And The House Fell Down
Side 2
1. Blues Never Fade Away
2. The Bridge
3. I Must Have Lost It On The Wind
4. Old '67
5. The Captain and The Kid

2) CD Album Enhanced

1. Postcards From Richard Nixon
2. Just Like Noah's Ark
3. Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)
4. Tinderbox
5. ...And The House Fell Down
6. Blues Never Fade Away
7. The Bridge
8. I Must Have Lost It On The Wind
9. Old '67
10. The Captain and The Kid
11. Weblink to two more tracks, Across the River Thames and Someone Saved My Life Tonight (live) [This is available on UK versions only]

3) CD /DVD

1. Postcards From Richard Nixon
2. Just Like Noah's Ark
3. Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)
4. Tinderbox
5. ...And The House Fell Down
6. Blues Never Fade Away
7. The Bridge
8. I Must Have Lost It On The Wind
9. Old '67
10. The Captain and The Kid
DVD: Interview with Elton John and Bernie Taupin

Elton previews "The Captain and The Kid"

Elton John previews new album at concert

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer
37 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Though he's one of the most successful pop stars in history, Elton John says he's given up on the idea of making hit records now that he's 59.

"Our day in the sun has gone, as far as radio play goes," John told an audience Wednesday night. "And we're OK with that."

He and longtime writing partner, Bernie Taupin, are now focused on making excellent songs, John said, and he previewed their new efforts while celebrating their old favorites at a concert to benefit his charity, The Elton John Foundation.

"OK, now we've come to the scary bit — for us, and maybe for you," he joked before playing the new material.

During the 2 1/2-hour concert, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center's intimate Frederick P. Rose Hall, John explained the inspiration behind the songs on "The Captain and the Kid," a complement to his classic 1975 album, "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy."

"It was really an album about how we struggle with failure," John said. "The next 36 years were about struggling with success."

Among the songs he debuted were "Tinderbox," which referenced the struggles Taupin and John have shared as creative partners, and "Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)," a tribute to New York.

He also played many of his biggest hits, including "Tiny Dancer," "Rocket Man," "Bennie and the Jets" and "Believe," about the power of love, which he said spoke to the climate in the world today.

"We live in a funny old world at the moment and this song says everything I want to say about the situation," he said.

John was to perform at the Fashion Rocks concert at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday night, along with Beyonce, Kanye West, Nelly Furtado, the Black Eyed Peas and others.

The event will air Friday on CBS (9 p.m. EDT).

Fashion Rocks Webcast September 10

Fashion Rocks ™ presents the World Premiere Performance of Elton John’s new album on the AT&T blue room!!

“If you can’t wait for Elton John’s new album The Captain and the Kid to hit stores on September 19th, then join the club! However, Fashion Rocks is teaming up with the AT&T blue room to present a world premiere Elton John Performance on Sunday, September 10th at 7 pm et ONLY at blueroom.att.com.