Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Greatest Hits

| type = greatest

| artist = Elton John

| cover = Ejgh.jpg

| alt =

| released = 8 November 1974

| recorded = 1970–1974

| studio =

| genre = Rock, pop

| length = 44:12

| label = {{hlist|DJM|MCA|Polydor}}

| producer = Gus Dudgeon

| prev_title = Caribou

| prev_year = 1974

| next_title = Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

| next_year = 1975

}}

Greatest Hits is the eleventh official album release for English musician Elton John, and the first compilation. Released on 8 November 1974,{{cite web|url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/2041-2982-2|title=BPI}} it spans the years 1970 to 1974, compiling ten of John's singles, with one track variation for releases in North America and for Europe and Australia. It topped the album chart in both the United States and the United Kingdom, staying at number one for ten consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 and eleven weeks on the UK Albums Chart. In Canada, it was number one for 13 weeks between 14 December 1974, and 22 March 1975, missing only 28 December 1974, at number two to Jim Croce's Photographs & Memories.

It was the best-selling album of 1975 in the United States, and is John's second best-selling album to date, being his first to have received an RIAA diamond certification for US sales of more than 10 million copies. As of April 2016 the album has been certified for 17 million units in the US.{{cite certification|region=United States|artist=Elton John|type=album|access-date=12 September 2020}} It remains John's best-selling album in the U.S. and one of the best-selling albums of all time, with 24 million copies sold worldwide.{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/elton-johns-greatest-hits-hits-1|title=Elton John's Greatest Hits hits #1|publisher=History|access-date=20 May 2018}} Although all of its songs are available as downloads, the album is currently out of print, having been superseded by four other greatest hits releases over the years: The Very Best of Elton John in 1990, Greatest Hits 1970–2002 in 2002, Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits in 2007 and Diamonds in 2017.

Contents

The single "Bennie and the Jets", which had topped the charts in both the US and Canada but which had not been released as a single in the United Kingdom at that point, appeared on the American and Canadian edition of the album. It was replaced by "Candle in the Wind" for the UK and Australian edition, the latter having been a hit in both of those countries but never released as a single in the US and Canada. The 1992 reissue contains eleven tracks, with both songs included.

"Border Song," John's debut single from his second album Elton John in the UK, Australia, US and Canada, went to number 92 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and to number 34 on the Canadian RPM national singles chart as a single in 1970.{{cite magazine | via=Library and Archives Canada | url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4700&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=msnvgu5v4a643al8ugim1ea684 | magazine=RPM | title= RPM 100 Singles | date=3 October 1970 | volume=14 | issue=7 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914004126/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4700&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=msnvgu5v4a643al8ugim1ea684 |archivedate=14 September 2014 | accessdate=16 June 2024 }} All other songs made the Top 40 in the UK and the US, most also making the top ten, with "Bennie and the Jets" and "Crocodile Rock" topping the chart in the States. John would wait until 1976 to top the singles chart in the UK, via his duet with Kiki Dee, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

With only ten tracks total, several other hit singles from the time period are not included in this collection. "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon" from the Madman Across the Water album reached number 41 and number 24 respectively as singles in the US, and "The Bitch Is Back," his most recent single, peaked at number four in the US and topped the chart in Canada. Although all of these records charted higher than "Border Song," it may have been included because it was the first single by Elton John to chart in any market, or because of cover versions by high-profile acts such as The 5th Dimension or Aretha Franklin, the latter version reaching number 37 in the Billboard Hot 100 and number 23 in the Cash Box Top 100 in December 1970.{{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19701219.html |title=Cash Box Top 100 12/19/70 |access-date=3 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024085525/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19701219.html |archive-date=24 October 2016 |url-status=dead }} Of the ten selections for the North American album, two ("Crocodile Rock" and "Bennie and the Jets") were number-one hits in the US; in Canada, five (these two plus "Daniel", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me") had been chart-toppers.List of RPM number-one singles of 1973List of RPM number-one singles of 1974

In 2003, Greatest Hits was ranked at number 135 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,{{cite web|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/greatest-hits-elton-john-19691231|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902072658/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/greatest-hits-elton-john-19691231|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-09-02|title=Greatest Hits no. 135|publisher=Rolling Stone|access-date=15 July 2021}} then was re-ranked at number 136 in a 2012 revised list.{{cite web| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/elton-john-greatest-hits-166639/|year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| publisher=Rolling Stone| access-date=18 September 2019}}

Critical reception

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}

| rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

| rev2score = B+{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: J|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=J&bk=70|access-date=27 February 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}

| rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|chapter=John, Elton|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|edition=5th concise|year=2011|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8|page=2,003}}

}}

In Melody Maker, Chris Charlesworth said that he didn't think the compilation would be successful as "anyone interested enough is bound to have these tracks already", which made it hard for him to review the album. He noted that it must have been difficult to pick representative tracks for the record, but that John was "a personality who (thank God) put life back into rock when it was going stale".{{cite magazine |last=Charlesworth |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Charlesworth |title=Magical Elton |magazine=Melody Maker |page=40 |date=23 November 1974}} Sue Byrom of Record & Popswop Mirror said that for those that didn't have all his other albums, "this collection ... could make a good reference point", and concluded, "A lot of people think Greatest Hits albums are a cop-out ... it could be, but as far as Elton John is concerned, he really is one of the greatest hits of the music scene".{{cite magazine |last=Byrom |first=Sue |title=Albums |magazine=Record & Popswop Mirror |page=24 |date=16 November 1974}}

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated that "rarely has a greatest-hits collection been as effective as Elton John's first compilation", and called it "a nearly flawless collection, offering a perfect introduction to Elton John and providing casual fans with almost all the hits they need".{{cite web|last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000190394 |title=Elton John – Greatest Hits |website=AllMusic}}

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

;Original North American version

{{track listing

| headline = Side one

| extra_column = Album

| title1 = Your Song

| extra1 = Elton John (1970)

| length1 = 4:00

| title2 = Daniel

| extra2 = Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973)

| length2 = 3:53

| title3 = Honky Cat

| extra3 = Honky Château (1972)

| length3 = 5:12

| title4 = Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

| extra4 = Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

| length4 = 3:14

| title5 = Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

| extra5 = Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

| length5 = 4:55

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Side two

| extra_column = Album

| title1 = Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)

| extra1 = Honky Château

| length1 = 4:40

| title2 = Bennie and the Jets

| extra2 = Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

| length2 = 5:10

| title3 = Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

| extra3 = Caribou (1974)

| length3 = 5:33

| title4 = Border Song

| extra4 = Elton John

| length4 = 3:19

| title5 = Crocodile Rock

| extra5 = Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player

| length5 = 3:56

}}

;Original international version

On the international releases, "Bennie and the Jets" was replaced by "Candle in the Wind" (3:41, taken from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road).

;1992 Polydor Reissue

The compact disc version of Greatest Hits, issued in the 1990s, features both "Bennie and the Jets" (track 7) and "Candle in the Wind" (track 8).

;1994 DCC Compact Classics Gold Disc

This edition follows the US LP track listing for the main album and adds "Candle In The Wind" as track 11.

;1996 Japanese edition

The expanded edition released by Nippon PolyGram/Mercury Music Entertainment (subtitled Your Song) has a different running order, excluding "Bennie and the Jets" and adding five additional tracks.{{cite web| url=http://artist.cdjournal.com/d/your-song---elton-john-greatest-hits/1196070097|script-title=ja:エルトン・ジョン / ユア・ソング~エルトン・ジョン・グレイテスト・ヒッツ|trans-title=Product description: Elton John – Your Song: Elton John's Greatest Hits (PHCR-1443)| language=ja| work=cdjournal.com|publisher=CD Journal| access-date=1 May 2013}} In 2000, Universal Music Japan reissued the album under the alternative title Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. The track listing is as follows:

  1. "Your Song"
  2. "Skyline Pigeon"
  3. "Daniel"
  4. "Crocodile Rock"
  5. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
  6. "Take Me to the Pilot"
  7. "Rock n' Roll Madonna"
  8. "Candle in the Wind"
  9. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee)
  10. "Honky Cat"
  11. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
  12. "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)"
  13. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
  14. "Border Song"
  15. "It's Me That You Need"

Charts

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

=Weekly charts=

Original release

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col" | Chart (1974–1976)

! scope="col" | Peak
position

scope="row" | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=158}}

| 1

{{album chart|Canada|1|artist=Elton John|album=Greatest Hits|chartid=3900a|rowheader=true|access-date=August 20, 2024}}
{{album chart|Netherlands|16|artist=Elton John|album=Greatest Hits|rowheader=true|access-date=August 20, 2024}}
scope="row"| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts){{cite book|last=Pennanen|first=Timo|title=Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972|edition=1st|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|year=2006|isbn=978-951-1-21053-5| language= fi}}

| align="center"| 6

{{album chart|Germany4|43|artist=Elton John|album=Greatest Hits|id=23004|rowheader=true|access-date=August 20, 2024}}
scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon){{cite book|title=Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005|publisher=Oricon Entertainment|location=Roppongi, Tokyo|year=2006|isbn=4-87131-077-9|language=ja}}

| align="center"| 67

{{album chart|New Zealand|2|artist=Elton John|album=Greatest Hits|rowheader=true|access-date=August 20, 2024}}
{{album chart|Norway|3|artist=Elton John|album=Greatest Hits|rowheader=true|access-date=August 20, 2024}}
{{album chart|UK2|1|date=19741117|rowheader=true|access-date=August 20, 2024}}
{{album chart|Billboard200|1|artist=Elton John|rowheader=true|access-date=August 20, 2024}}

Reissue

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col" | Chart (1991–1996)

! scope="col" | Peak
position

scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon){{cite web| url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/185479/1/|title=グッバイ・イエロー・ブリック・ロード~エルトン・ジョン・グレイテスト・ヒッツ/エルトン・ジョン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック|trans-title=Highest position and charting weeks of Your Song: Greatest Hits (1996 reissue) by Elton John| language=ja| work=oricon.co.jp|access-date=1 May 2013}}

|27

{{album chart|BillboardCatalog|1|artist=Elton John|rowheader=true|access-date=August 20, 20243}}

{{col-2}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col" | Chart (1975)

! scope="col" | Position

scope="row" | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)

|10

{{album chart|Canada|2|artist=Elton John|album=Greatest Hits|chartid=6849a|rowheader=true|refname=CAN2|access-date=4 April 2023}}
scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC){{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216084346/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1975.php |url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1975.php |title=The Official UK Charts Company : ALBUM CHART HISTORY |archive-date=16 December 2007 |access-date=16 December 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}

|7

scope="row"|US Billboard 200{{cite magazine |title=Pop Albums ("Talent in Action" supplement) |magazine=Billboard |page=16 |date=27 December 1975}}

|1

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col" | Chart (1976)

! scope="col" | Position

scope="row"|US Billboard 200{{cite magazine |title=Pop Albums ("Talent in Action" supplement) |magazine=Billboard |page=12 |date=25 December 1976}}

|99

{{col-end}}

Certifications and sales

{{certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1974|region=Australia|artist=Elton John|title=Greatest Hits|certyear=1980|award=Platinum|number=5|certref={{cite web |url=https://bid.omegaauctions.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-373---elton-john---australian-award/?lot=30938|date=4 April 2023|title=Elton John Australian Award}}}}

{{certification Table Entry|title=Greatest Hits|artist=Elton John|type=album|relyear=1974|region=Canada|award=Diamond}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=France |type=album |artist=Elton John |title=Greatest Hits |award=Gold|source=infodisc |relyear=1974 |certyear=1979|accessdate=9 November 2021}}

{{certification Table Entry|title=Greatest Hits|note=1996 reissue|artist=エルトン・ジョン|type=album|relyear=1996|region=Japan|award=Gold|certyear=1996|certmonth=7|access-date=29 August 2022}}

{{certification Table Entry|title=エルトン・ジョン・グレイテスト・ヒッツ|note=2000 reissue|artist=エルトン・ジョン|type=album|relyear=2000|certyear=2000|certmonth=12|region=Japan|award=Platinum|access-date=29 August 2022}}

{{certification Table Entry|title=Greatest Hits|artist=Elton John|type=album|relyear=1974|region=United Kingdom|award=Platinum|certyear=1975|id=2041-2982-2|salesamount=400,000|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gwEAAAAMBAJ&dq=goodbye+yellow+brick+road+copies+million+billboard&pg=PT56|title=DJM to Lift Sales From Pye In May|magazine=Billboard|via=Google Books|page=29|date=11 January 1975|accessdate=25 December 2021}}}}

{{certification Table Entry|title=Greatest Hits|artist=Elton John|type=album|relyear=1974|region=United States|award=Platinum|number=17|certyear=2016|access-date=12 September 2020}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true}}

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}