Elton John-Greatest Hits Volume II (1977)


 Artist: Elton John

Title: Greatest Hits Volume II

Label: MCA Records

Format: 8-Track

Catalog Number: MCAT 3027

Year of Release: 1977

Country and Year of Edition: US 1977 cream white shell with MCA logo molded

Sell Price: $3.98

Sell Date: 5/31/26

Condition: VG/G+

Discogs Last Sold: 9/4/23 VG+/not graded $2.00

Low: $2.00

Median: $2.00

Average: $2.99

High: $4.98

Current low price: $4.98 VG+/no cover

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 3

Have/Want: 77/13

Where Sold: Fort Worth, TX

Time It Took To Sell:  3 years

Where and When Bought: Ebaly 8-track lot

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B+

Sad To See It Go: No

I always thought the second volume of Elton John's Greatest Hits was inferior in some way to the first one in terms of general artistry.  The first one at least captured the singer/songwriter breakout into celebritydom and these track were all from the mid 70's period where Elton cranked out albums that consistantly went to #1.  This was epitomized by the duet with Kiki Dee that even as a kid I didn't particularly like, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

I woke up with "Philadelphia Freedom" going through my head this morning and although I didn't like that one much either in it's day, it made me realize I did like "The Bitch Is Back," "Island Girl," and "Levon" and the covers of "Pinball Wizard" and "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" were credible.   At least the 8-track listener wasn't subjected to fade outs.  

Although I never had this compilation on vinyl, you couldn't escape the cover of Elton golfing while flipping through the "J" section of any used bin.  However, the compilation has since been taken out of print in the digital era after hitting the 5 million Platinum mark in 1998.    In some ways, that is a travesty since it serves it's purpose as a snapshot in time: the hits before "Part Time Love" and after "Bennie and the Jets."  1974-1976 were the years in question and he really cranked 'em out in that period.  Bernie Taupin's melodrama about rescuing Elton from putting his head in the oven ("Someone Saved My Life Tonight") is here as well.

Although Elton still had hit singles and Platinum albums for many years after this period, this era is a signpost of when Elton was at Mount Everest as an album artist in terms of consistantly hitting #1 in the US.  He simply dominated with quantity and this Greatest Hits Volume II makes a case for quality as well, despite my occasional kneejerk anti-pop bias.

The Pop songs are probably better than the deep cuts.

FOR FURTHER REVIEW:

Caribou (1974)

Various Artists-Music Machine (1977)


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