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Rare Masters | 
 enlarge | Artist: Elton John
Label: Polydor/Chronicles
Category: Music
List Price: $27.49
Buy New: $15.26
You Save: $12.23 (44%)
New (7) Used (10) from $7.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 95385
Format: Box Set
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.7 x 0.9
UPC: 731451430527
EAN: 0731451430527
ASIN: B000026NJ5
Release Date: January 1, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new. Shipped from the UK by Airmail direct to 5 airports in the United States. Delivery takes approximately 5 working days from posting - we're frequently faster than a lot of US based sellers.
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | I've Been Loving You | | • | Here's to the Next Time | | • | Lady Samantha | | • | All Across the Havens | | • | It's Me That You Need | | • | Just Like Strange Rain | | • | Bad Side of the Moon | | • | Rock & Roll Madonna | | • | Grey Seal | | • | Friends | | • | Michelle's Song | | • | Seasons | | • | Variation on Michelle's Song (A Day in the Country) | | • | Can I Put You On | | • | Honey Roll | | • | Variation on Friends | | • | I Meant to Do My Work Today (A Day in the Country) | | • | Four Moods - Elton John, Buckmaster, Paul | | • | Seasons Reprise |
Disc 2
| • | Madman Across the Water | | • | Into the Old Man's Shoes | | • | Rock Me When He's Gone | | • | Slave | | • | Skyline Pigeon | | • | Jack Rabbit | | • | Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again) | | • | Let Me Be Your Car | | • | Screw You (Young Man's Blues) | | • | Step into Christmas | | • | (Ho! Ho! Ho!) Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas | | • | Sick City | | • | Cold Highway | | • | One Day (At a Time) - Elton John, Lennon, John | | • | I Saw Her Standing There - Elton John, Lennon, John | | • | House of Cards | | • | Planes | | • | Sugar on the Floor - Elton John, Taupin, Bernie |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
During Elton John's most commercially successful period, between 1970 and 1975, he was also at his most prolific. Usually producing two albums a year, he also knocked off a dozen or so non-LP B-sides, a handful of demos for other artists, and even a soundtrack album for 1971's obscure Friends. Rare Masters, which brings much of this work together with a handful of other odds and ends (an alternate version of "Madman Across the Water," John's debut single, "I've Been Loving You"), is hardly a substitute for Greatest Hits, but its generally high quality is impressive. --Rickey Wright
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
 Elton John lost album-"Friends" July 10, 2008
I loved this album in the late '70s and could not find it. It is a wonderful as then. There are other songs that are very good also. I think it is a GREAT CD !
 Great for "Friends" album songs, not for much else September 27, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought it because it was the only way I knew to get copies of the songs from the old "Friends" album (movie of same name). Don't care for any of the other songs.
The real reason to get this is the "Friends" album tracks April 18, 2007
Almost all of the b-sides and various singles included here on this collection are now available on the expanded reissues of Elton's albums. The real reason to get this is that its (as of this writing)the only place to get the "Friends" soundtrack. No, not the soundtrack to that TV show but to an obscure early 70's movie. Elton and Bernie wrote four new songs that were used in the film (although Bernie supposedly didn't read the script he only skimmed through it to get a feel for the movie). The rest of the album is filled with Paul Buckmaster's soundtrack which adapts various themes from these four songs plus a reprise of the title track. Is it worthwhile buying this just for the "Friends" soundtrack? Yes, if you're a hardcore Elton John fan because his is the only place to get the album now.
If you enjoy Buckmaster's orchestrations on the early Elton John albums, then you'll enjoy every aspect of this album. If you're looking just for the songs that John and Taupin wrote, you'll still enjoy the four full performances and song reprise. Just about any of these songs musically would have fit in well on "Elton John", "Tumbleweed Connection" or "Madman Across the Water" with "Honey Roll" and "Can I Put Yon On" two great lost Elton John rockers. They would have made a fine single if they had been released separately from this album (which I believe one of them was if memory serves).
We also get the singles/b-sides that were added to each Elton John album through "Tumbleweed Connection". "I've Been Loving You"/"Here's To the Next Time", "Lady Samantha"/"All Across the Havens", "It's Me That You Need", "Just Like Strange Rain", "Bad Side of the Moon", Rock & Roll Madonna", "Grey Seal" (an early version of the song from "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road")all demonstrate Elton and Bernie's developing songcraft even if they aren't always the best songs by the duo.
The second disc features an outtake from "Madman Across the Water" (included on "Tumbleweed Connection"), "Into the Old Man's Shoes", "Rock me When He's Gone", "Slave" all of which appear on "Tumbleweed" or "Honkey Chateau". "Skyline Pidgeon" is a piano/vocal re-recording that appeared as a b-side from 1973 and appears along with "Jack Rabbit", "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady)" from "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" (although the latter two were also on the deluxe reissue of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"). "Screw You". "Sick City", "Step Into Christmas" and "Ho! Ho Ho" all appear on "Carbiou" as bonus tracks. "One Day At A Time" and "I Saw Her Standing There" appeared as b-sides and on "Captain Fantastic". "House of Cards", "Planes" and "Sugar on the Floor" all appear on "Rock of the Westies". Only "Let Me Be Your Car" doesn't appear anywhere else as it was written/performed as a demo for Rod Stewart who recorded it for one of his albums.
The two CD set includes an oversized booklet with comments from Bernie about the genesis of each song. The mastering is pretty good overall and is done by Joseph Palmaccio before engineers started applying too much compression to make the music sound "louder" and more contemporary (and squeezing the dynamic range to death hurting the quality of the sounds you hear). I'd get it if you are an Elton John fan before it goes out of print as almost everything here is somewhere else, it's possible this is on the chopping block. So I'd give 4 stars to the best songs here from "Friends" and the stronger tracks from disc 2 with 2-3 stars for the other b-sides on the first disc and the remainder on disc 2 with an overall rating of 3 stars.
A purposeful purchase March 20, 2007
I purchased this SOLELY because it was the only way to get a CD version of the soundtrack to the movie "Friends". I own the LP, but searched in vain for a CD re-make. Apparently, there's no market for this in the US because this CD was not released in the US. The geniuses at the record labels strike again. Anyway, it is pricey but worth it!
A Great Choice For The E.J. Fan Who Has It All September 22, 2006
Rare Masters is a very interesting listen for someone like me who is the ultimate Elton John fan. At one point or another, I've owned everything Elton's put out, so it's nice to have this double CD of B-sides and unreleased tracks.
If you're unfamiliar with Elton's albums, there are some better choices to start with. I'd suggest, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Madman Across The Water, Rock of the Westies, or even his latest release, The Captain & The Kid, over Rare Masters. That said, if you've worn grooves in your 20 year old LP versions of the above mentioned you can't go wrong with Rare Masters.
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