Peachtree Road

Special repackaged version of 2004 album with 3 bonus tracks from the hit musical Billy Elliot. plus a DVD (PAL/Region 0) with 9 songs from the album recorded live at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia. Peachtree Road easily rivals the best work of Elton's illustrious career and the album features 12 brand new John/Taupin songs. Recorded in Atlanta and produced for the first time by Elton himself, Peachtree Road is heavily influenced by the sound of the American South, at times incorporating a choir, pedal steel, acoustic guitar as well as his trademark piano virtuosity. Longtime band members Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson are aboard. Showcasing a voice that's gotten deeper and richer with age, John wisely sticks to a set that is predominantly made up of ballads. *Please note you will need an All Code DVD player to view. Universal. 2005.

It's relatively easy to launch a comeback. It's far harder to maintain one. The follow-up to 2001's warmly received (by critics, anyway) Songs from the West Coast indicates Elton John is committed to following through on his late career critical renaissance. Entirely self-produced and featuring his trusty band on each song (and have any sidemen been more stalwart than Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson?), Peachtree Road's noble ambitions aren't entirely realized. Starting strong with the telling "Weight of the World" ("Happy to play with the weight of the world off my back") and Americana-flavored "Porch Swing in Tupelo," the 12-song set loses momentum as it progresses. Overproduction rears its glitzy head most egregiously in "All That I'm Allowed." Still, the young Elton John who took the singer-songwriter movement to new heights in the early '70s with the likes of Tumbleweed Connection and Honky Chateau is in evidence on Peachtree Road. He's laid the groundwork to totally throw caution to the wind and make a truly great album. Next time, perhaps? --Steven Stolder