Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin | |
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Compilation album by various artists | |
Released | 22 October 1991 |
Recorded | various |
Genre | Rock |
Length | 78:54 |
Label | Polydor |
Producer | many |
Singles from Two Rooms | |
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Evan Cater, AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin is a 1991 tribute album consisting of interpretations of sixteen songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The title refers to a song on John's album 21 at 33, "Two Rooms at the End of the World", and to the duo's unusual collaborative style; it is also the title of a 1991 film documenting their collaboration.
Critical reception[]
The album gained an uneven reception,[2] though some performances were singled out for praise, including Sinéad O'Connor's interpretation of "Sacrifice",[3] Kate Bush's reggae-inflected version of "Rocket Man", which in 2007 won The Observer readers' award for Greatest Cover of all time,[4][5] and Tina Turner's Grammy-nominated version of "The Bitch Is Back".[6]
Singles[]
Two singles were released from the album: Oleta Adams' version of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" peaked at number 33 in the UK Singles Chart and Kate Bush's "Rocket Man" peaked at number 12 in the UK and number two in Australia. Wilson Phillips' cover of "Daniel", while not released as a single, peaked at number seven in the US Adult Contemporary chart due to strong radio airplay.[7]
Track listing[]
All tracks are written by Elton John & Bernie Taupin.
No. | Title | Performing Artist | Length |
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1. | "Border Song" | Eric Clapton | 4:21 |
2. | "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)" | Kate Bush | 4:57 |
3. | "Come Down in Time" | Sting | 3:38 |
4. | "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" | The Who | 4:32 |
5. | "Crocodile Rock" | The Beach Boys | 4:21 |
6. | "Daniel" | Wilson Phillips | 4:03 |
7. | "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" | Joe Cocker | 3:57 |
8. | "Levon" | Jon Bon Jovi | 5:27 |
9. | "The Bitch is Back" | Tina Turner | 3:38 |
10. | "Philadelphia Freedom" | Hall & Oates | 5:12 |
11. | "Your Song" | Rod Stewart | 4:49 |
12. | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" | Oleta Adams | 6:02 |
13. | "Madman Across the Water" | Bruce Hornsby | 6:10 |
14. | "Sacrifice" | Sinéad O'Connor | 5:12 |
15. | "Burn Down the Mission" | Phil Collins | 6:11 |
16. | "Tonight" | George Michael | 7:23 |
Total length: | 79:53 |
Kate Bush[]
Kate Bush's reggae-inflected version of "Rocket Man" was released as a single and peaked at number 12 in the UK and number two in Australia (where it beat the original version's chart position by several places). In 2007 the track won The Observer readers' award for Greatest Cover of all time.[4][5]
"I was really knocked out to be asked to be involved with this project," Bush said, "because I was such a big fan of Elton's when I was little. I really loved his stuff. It's like he's my biggest hero, really. And when I was just starting to write songs, he was the only songwriter I knew of that played the piano and sang and wrote songs. So he was very much my idol, and one of my favourite songs of his was 'Rocket Man'. Now, if I had known then that I would have been asked to be involved in this project, I would have just died… They basically said, 'Would we like to be involved?' I could choose which track I wanted… 'Rocket Man' was my favourite. And I hoped it hadn't gone, actually – I hoped no one else was going to do it… I actually haven't heard the original for a very long time. 'A long, long time' (laughs). It was just that I wanted to do it differently. I do think that if you cover records, you should try and make them different. It's like remaking movies: you've got to try and give it something that makes it worth re-releasing. And the reggae treatment just seemed to happen, really. I just tried to put the chords together on the piano, and it just seemed to want to take off in the choruses. So we gave it the reggae treatment. It's even more extraordinary (that the song was a hit) because we actually recorded the track over two years ago. Probably just after my last telly appearance. We were quite astounded when they wanted to release it as a single just recently."[8]
The B-side of Bush's single was her version of "Candle in the Wind". The CD single added an instrumental version of the same song.
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
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Year-end charts[]
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Certifications[]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[17] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[18] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
France (SNEP)[19] | Gold | 157,000[20] |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[21] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[23] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Evan Cater, AllMusic review
- ^ Rolling Stone, "Elton by Others is an Uneven Enterprise", October 2, 1991.
- ^ People magazine, "Two Rooms But One Great Songbook", September 23, 1991.
- ^ a b "The top 50 greatest covers as voted by you", The Observer, UK 2007. Archived 11 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Linskey, Dorian. "The 10 best Kate Bush moments".
- ^ "Tina Turner's GRAMMY Awards history".
- ^ "'Daniel' peaked at number seven in the US Adult Contemporary chart". Billboard.
- ^ BBC Radio 1 interview, 14 December 1991
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Two Rooms – Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Two Rooms – Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Two Rooms – Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – Elton JOHN & Bernie TAUPIN" (in French). Institut français d'opinion publique. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Two Rooms – Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin" (in Swedish). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ "Hitparade.ch – Two Rooms – Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ Billboard 200 Chart – Week of May 2, 1992 at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 January 2021)
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Lot 98 – Bernie Taupin Elton John "Two Rooms" Australian "Platinum" CD Record Award – Julien's Auctions at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 January 2021)
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – 2 Rooms - Celebrating Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin". Music Canada. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "Les Certifications depuis 1973" (in French). Institut français d'opinion publique. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ Les Meilleures Ventes de CD / Albums "Tout Temps" at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 March 2020)
- ^ Lot 86 – Bernie Taupin Elton John "Two Rooms" and "The One" New Zealand "Platinum" CD Award Display – Julien's Auctions at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 January 2021)
- ^ "British album certifications – Various Artists – Two Rooms - Elton John And Bernie Taupin". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 January 2021.Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Two Rooms - Elton John And Bernie Taupin in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "American album certifications – TWO ROOMS: CELEB. THE SONGS OF E. JOHN & B. TAUPIN". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- Elton John tribute albums
- 1991 compilation albums
- Polydor Records compilation albums
- Rock compilation albums