Elton John "Diamonds" CDs

I had no idea an other compilation was coming out, but to celebrate 50 years you can either buy one CD, a 2 CD set or a 3 CD set of his "Ultimate Hits". But
even if you buy all three CDs you won't get the original "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", "Levon" or "Friends". And songs he didn't write like "Lucy in the
Sky with Diamonds" or "Pinball Wizard" are on , you guessed it, CD 3. All are LP Versions, "Lucy" is 6:16 on the label. Decent sound from what I can tell from
Amazon Music.

Edited by Bill Cahill

I wish they had included all his top 40 hits, especially "Ego" (which I read once in an Elton John interview is one of his favorite songs and he wished had peaked higher) instead of some of the later stuff included, which really didn't make an impact on radio. Too bad they didn't use the single versions.

Otherwise, it's a nice set :)

I definitely prefer the single edits of "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" & "Empty Garden". But you're right - they're aren't too many, I suppose.

Bill Cahill wrote: But even if you buy all three CDs you won't get the original "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", "Levon" or "Friends".

I wasn't aware he re-did any of these (not counting the
George Michael duet on DLTSGDOM).
Or are they live versions?

Yes, I should have put in the word "or" before Levon. I suppose they didn't want two versions of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" on the set so they chose
the George Michael one.

As far as mixes, I believe that all 45s on Uni before "Tiny Dancer" were dedicated mono mixes and I don't believe that those mixes have ever been re-issued
digitally. As previously noted in other strings, "Your Song" has more reverb in the second half of the song on the 45. "Levon" has a more aggressive mono mix
for the 45 where the piano is boosted or reduced at various points in the song. I believe that "Border Song" and "Friends" are also mono mixes but less
noticable.