One of the few major artists who can’t get their reissue campaign on proper track, Elton John‘s been lagging behind the actual dates for anniversary editions of his classic platters, and except for the “Madman Across The Water” box set, those expanded editions were largely disappointing. Even last year’s reappearance of “Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy” felt very much disappointing, as it contained less interesting material than the one which celebrated the album’s 30th year. Still, the fresh emergence of 1975’s “Rock Of The Westies” – scheduled for November 20th – should go even farther.
There are no extra songs this time around – not even a B-side and an outtake that augmented the 1995 reissue – but a second disc of the set is dedicated to what’s called piano-and-vocal versions, and these don’t seem to be the artist’s original demos. Instead, what’s there is the same recordings only with all the other instruments stripped away, as dictated by the current fad of playing with multi-tracks for the sake of it. It must give the listener some perspective, but overall this new edition looks like a missed opportunity.
Rock Of The Westies
CD 1 – Original Album:
1. Medley: Yell Help / Wednesday Night / Ugly
2. Dan Dare (Pilot Of The Future)
3. Island Girl
4. Grow Some Funk Of Your Own
5. I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)
6. Street Kids
7. Hard Luck Story
8. Feed Me
9. Billy Bones And The White Bird
CD 2 – Piano / Vocal Versions:
1-9 – as on CD 1
