Elton John 31: Two Rooms

A multi-disc overview was one way for Elton John to assess his career, but he wasn’t done doing that. Along with the box set trend, thematic tribute albums began to be a thing in the ‘90s. Just as with the Grateful Dead the same year, Two Rooms was an all-star compilation “celebrating the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin”. Most of the songs were fairly faithful to the original, while still allowing the artists to put their own stamp.

Eric Clapton injects more gospel and a great solo into “Border Song”, then Kate Bush makes “Rocket Man” reggae, albeit with Uillian pipes. Sting’s “Come Down In Time” is a great choice, handled very gently, while the Who plow through “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” with a quote from “Take Me To The Pilot”, just as Elton put “I Can’t Explain” in his version of “Pinball Wizard”. While the photo of the Beach Boys shows Brian Wilson, it’s only Carl, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston singing “Crocodile Rock” over a prerecorded track, while Mike Love chimes in with “re-mem-mem, remember-member”. Fittingly, Wilson Phillips (then still popular) follow with “Daniel”. Joe Cocker does a wonderful job belting out “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word”, unfortunately given a boomy arrangement with in-your-face saxophone. Jon Bon Jovi does a band karaoke version of “Levon”; hearing the American pronunciation of “garage”, jars here.

Tina Turner tackles “The Bitch Is Back” for the second time in her career, and nails it, but while “Philadelphia Freedom” is fitting for Hall & Oates, their reading is pretty limp. Twenty years after recording “Country Comfort”, Rod Stewart goes the safe route with a tepid “Your Song”. Oleta Adams, then riding on a hit single, makes “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” that much more soulful, then Bruce Hornsby takes “Madman Across The Water” to a more gothic place. Sinead O’Connor’s gentle, heartfelt interpretation of “Sacrifice” is possibly the highlight of the album, while Phil Collins’ straight take on “Burn Down The Mission” is mostly notable for Steve Winwood on organ (according to the credits, anyway). George Michael offers a lengthy live “Tonight” with winds and strings, since “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” had already been claimed; his own duet with Elton on the latter from the same show would be released shortly as a single.

Two Rooms was promoted by a feature-length documentary on VHS, followed by an abridged TV special hosted by Sylvester Stallone of all people. The album wasn’t likely to make new fans for these artists, and like most tribute packages, the novelty wears off quickly. Seventeen years later, the concept would be repeated with a pair of albums with the intent of “reimagining the songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin”: Revamp sported covers by modern artists ranging from Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga to the Killers and Queens of the Stone Age, while Restoration was devoted to country artists.

Two Rooms: Celebrating The Songs Of Elton John & Bernie Taupin (1991)—3