Track Listing

1. Honky Cat
2. Mellow
3. I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself
4. Susie (Dramas)
5. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time)
6. Salvation
7. Slave
8. Amy
9. Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
10. Hercules
11. Slave
12. Honky Cat
13. Mellow
14. I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself
15. Susie (Dramas)
16. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time)
17. Salvation
18. Slave
19. Amy
20. Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
21. Hercules
22. Slave
23. Honky Cat
24. Mellow
25. I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself
26. Susie (Dramas)
27. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time)
28. Salvation
29. Slave
30. Amy
31. Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
32. Hercules
33. Slave

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12981 in Music
• Released on: 2004-11-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Hybrid SACD, SACD
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 144 minutes

CD Description
By the time Elton John went to France to cut HONKY CHATEAU in 1972, he had already become the first act since the Beatles to land four albums in the American Top 10 simultaneously. Up to that point, John had performed in a trio rounded outby bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson. The addition of guitarist Davey Johnstone on HONKY CHATEAU added another dimension to the overall sound. The results were successful, as the nonsensical "Honky Cat" and the Bowie-inspired "Rocket Man" became John's first Top 10 hits since the release of "Your Song" two years prior.
John and co. reined in the lengthy, moody excesses of MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER, turning in a highly focused collection of beautifully crafted pop.The rollicking "I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself", the sassy "Susie (Dramas)", and the stirring "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters" are all standouts. The John/Bernie Taupin partnership also yielded a number of songs with vivid imagery, including the Civil War-era American South of "Slave" and a front-row pew before a gospel choir in the inspirational "Salvation". Pound for pound, HONKY CHATEAU may be one the strongest, most consistent, and most pleasurable records in the mammoth Johndiscography.

Customer Reviews

A Cracker From When he Was Good...
Back in the early 70s, Elton John was on a hugely onerous recording deal which warranted something like two album releases a year. Such pressure would put a tremendous strain on anyone's creativity (no wonder his hair fell out), but for a while, Elton just hit a fabulously productive stride, and 'Honky Chateau' was one of his best, before he went ga-ga. There's some fine John / Taupin songs here, including the title track, which really should've been a bigger hit than it was. Elton's always been a fine melody writer, and this album is littered with may examples of this, including 'Rocket Man' and 'Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters'. Absolutely a gem.

I didn't actually like Elton John before buying this album.
Only really decided to give it try as it's an SACD and cheap, also liked the fact I only recognised one or two tracks(Rocketman being the most obvious) so I knew the none of his tracks that have irritated me throughout the years were on there. Thankfully I was in for a really nice surprise with this album, much prefer his older stuff to his more recent typical disney style drivel that I hate!

The multichannel mix is pretty superb, nice warm sound yet at the same time crisp & clear, actually one of my favourite SACDs in terms of sound quality(not quite up there with my favourites but not far off), I was so pleased with it that I went on to pick up Captian Fantastic at an even bigger bargian price(seeing the reviews and noticing it too was of a similar time), must say I much prefer Honky Chateau to CF, it just doesn't have the warmth of this album IMO.

Highly recommended SACD for anyone with even a remote interest in Elton John, even for those that don't(as I didn't), should fit in well to anyones high-res collection.

Honky - sacd
Fantastic multi-channel mix. As with all of the other Elton John sacd's this one is excellent as well. In addition to the 2 big hits, there are few other great tracks I discovered for the first time. Specifically 'Salvation' and 'Slave' are standouts. All in all not a bad song on it.