The Very Best of Elton John

The Very Best of Elton John
Greatest hits album by Elton John
Released	1 October 1990
Recorded	1970–1990
Genre	Rock, pop
Length	2:17:56
Label	Polygram
Producer	Gus Dudgeon, Clive Franks, Chris Thomas, Don Was
Elton John chronology
To Be Continued (1990) The Very Best of Elton John (1990) The One (1992)
Singles from The Very Best of Elton John
"You Gotta Love Someone" "Easier to Walk Away"

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

The Very Best of Elton John is a greatest hits compilation album by Elton John, released in October 1990. His first career-retrospective album, and fourth official greatest-hits album overall, it was released in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe, and in other countries such as Japan and Australia, but not in the United States, where the box set To Be Continued... was released the following month instead.

The album spans his second album Elton John in 1970 to the successful then most-recent 1989 album Sleeping with the Past. After the huge hit that was the double A-sided "Sacrifice/Healing Hands" single, which was the third best-selling single of 1990 in the United Kingdom, the album became an instant smash in that country. It spent its first two weeks at #1 and then nine strong weeks at #2. It was kept from the top during all nine weeks by Madonna's Immaculate Collection. In all the album spent 145 weeks inside the UK top 200 album chart, making a total of 11 re-entries, and it was certified 9× Platinum by the BPI on 1 March 1995.^[2]

It includes a total of 28 hit singles plus the new songs "Easier to Walk Away" and "You Gotta Love Someone", which also made the charts between 1990 and 1991.

The release also spawned a music video compilation, which was originally released on both laserdisc and VHS, and reissued on DVD.

Track listing

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"Your Song"	Elton John, Bernie Taupin	Elton John, 1970	4:03
2.	"Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be a Long, Long Time)"	John, Taupin	Honky Château, 1972	4:42
3.	"Honky Cat"	John, Taupin	Honky Château	5:15
4.	"Crocodile Rock"	John, Taupin	Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, 1973	3:58
5.	"Daniel"	John, Taupin	Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player	3:56
6.	"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"	John, Taupin	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973	3:17
7.	"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"	John, Taupin	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	4:57
8.	"Candle in the Wind"	John, Taupin	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	3:51
9.	"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"	John, Taupin	Caribou, 1974	5:38
10.	"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"	Lennon–McCartney	Non-album single, 1974	6:17
11.	"Philadelphia Freedom" (Edited version)	John, Taupin	Non-album single, 1975	5:19
12.	"Someone Saved My Life Tonight"	John, Taupin	Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, 1975	6:47
13.	"Pinball Wizard"	Pete Townshend	Tommy soundtrack, 1975	5:16
14.	"The Bitch Is Back"	John, Taupin	Caribou	3:46

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
15.	"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee)	John, Taupin (but credited to Ann Orson/Carte Blanche, respectively)	Non-album single, 1976	4:32
16.	"Bennie and the Jets"	John, Taupin	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	5:21
17.	"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"	John, Taupin	Blue Moves, 1976	3:51
18.	"Song for Guy"	John	A Single Man, 1978	6:41
19.	"Part-Time Love"	John, Gary Osborne	A Single Man	3:16
20.	"Blue Eyes"	John, Osborne	Jump Up!, 1982	3:28
21.	"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"	John, Taupin, Johnstone	Too Low for Zero, 1983	4:46
22.	"I'm Still Standing"	John, Taupin	Too Low for Zero	3:04
23.	"Kiss the Bride"	John, Taupin	Too Low for Zero	3:56
24.	"Sad Songs (Say So Much)"	John, Taupin	Breaking Hearts, 1984	4:11
25.	"Passengers"	John, Taupin, Johnstone, Phineas McHize	Breaking Hearts	3:24
26.	"Nikita"	John, Taupin	Ice on Fire, 1985	5:45
27.	"I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That"	John, Taupin	Reg Strikes Back, 1988	4:00
28.	"Sacrifice"	John, Taupin	Sleeping with the Past, 1989	5:08
29.	"Easier to Walk Away"	John, Taupin	Soon to be released on To Be Continued..., 1990	4:25
30.	"You Gotta Love Someone"	John, Taupin	Days of Thunder soundtrack, 1990	5:01

• Track 25 is different on European version of the album. "Whispers" from Sleeping with the Past takes the place of "Passengers".
• "Pinball Wizard", "The Bitch Is Back", "Passengers" and "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That" are excised from the vinyl and cassette versions of the compilation.
• The timings are different on the back cover and the actual CD. On Disc 1, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is listed as 6:12, while the actual song runs at 5:38 and "Philadelphia Freedom" runs at 5:42, rather at 5:19. On Disc 2, the back cover shows Song For Guy running at 5:02, but the actual track runs at 6:40 (the album length of the song). The same applies for "Nikita", which the back cover states for 4:53 but the actual song plays at 5:44. "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That" fades slightly earlier on the CD (4:00) instead of the back cover's listing of 4:33.

B-sides

Song	Format
"Medicine Man"	"You Gotta Love Someone" 7"/12"/CD (UK)
"Medicine Man" (with Adamski)	"You Gotta Love Someone" 12"/CD (UK)
"Made for Me"	"Easier to Walk Away" 12"/CD (UK)
"I Swear I Heard the Night Talkin'"	"Easier to Walk Away" 7"/12"/CD (UK) "You Gotta Love Someone" 7" (France)

Music video compilation

1. "Your Song" (Top of the Pops 1971 live version)
2. "Daniel" (live German 1973 version)
3. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (Top of the Pops 1973 live version)
4. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee)
5. "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (BBC Live Christmas Show version)
6. "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long Long Time)" (live Wembley 1977 version)
7. "Blue Eyes"
8. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
9. "I'm Still Standing"
10. "Kiss the Bride"
11. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
12. "Passengers"
13. "Nikita"
14. "Wrap Her Up"
15. "Candle in the Wind" (live in Australia 1986 version)
16. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (live in Prince's Trust 1987 version)
17. "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That"
18. "Philadelphia Freedom" (live in Verona 1989 version)
19. "Sacrifice"
20. "You Gotta Love Someone"

Charts

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Austrian Top 75 Albums[3]	1
Finnish Albums Chart[4]	3
French Compilations[5]	1
German Albums[6]	2
Hungarian Top 40 Albums[7]	19
Italian Albums Chart[8]	1
New Zealand Top 50 Albums[9]	1
Norwegian Top 40 Albums[10]	1
Spanish Albums Chart[11]	1
Swiss Top 100 Albums[12]	1
UK Albums Chart[13]	1
Chart (1991)	Peak position
Australian Top 50 Albums[14]	1
Netherlands Top 100 Albums[15]	5
Swedish Top 60 Albums[16]	1
Chart (1995)	Peak position
Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums[17]	28
Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums[18]	17

Certifications

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Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[19]	6× Platinum	420,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[20]	3× Platinum	60,000^x
Brazil (ABPD)[21]	Gold	100,000^*
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[22]	Gold	25,000[22]
France (SNEP)[23]	Diamond	1,000,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[24]	2× Platinum	1,000,000^^
Italy (FIMI)[25]	4× Platinum	400,000^*
Japan (RIAJ)[26]	Gold	100,000^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[27]	3× Platinum	300,000^^
Sweden (GLF)[28]	Platinum	100,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[29]	3× Platinum	150,000^x
United Kingdom (BPI)[2]	9× Platinum	2,700,000^^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[30]	5× Platinum	5,000,000^*
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r471536
2. "British album certifications – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Very Best of Elton John in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Search
3. "Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John (Album)" (ASP). Austrian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
4. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
5. "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé" (PHP). InfoDisc (in French). Find "Elton JOHN" under the drop-down menu to see statistics.
6. "Album – Elton John, The Very Best of Elton John" (ASP). Media Control Charts (in German). Retrieved 10 July 2011.
7. "Archivum: Top 40 Album". MAHASZ (in Hungarian). Retrieved 30 July 2011.
8. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1990.htm
9. "Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John (Album)" (ASP). New Zealand Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
10. "Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John (Album)" (ASP). Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
11. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
12. "Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John (Album)" (ASP). Schweizer Hitparade. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
13. "All the Number One Albums: 1990". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
14. "Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John (Album)" (ASP). Australian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
15. "Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
16. "Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John (Album)" (ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
17. "Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
18. "Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
19. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
20. "Austrian album certifications – Elton John – Very Best of" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Elton John in the field Interpret. Enter Very Best of in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
21. "Brazilian album certifications – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
22. "Elton John" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
23. "French album certifications – Elton John – The Very Best of" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
24. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Elton John; 'The Very Best of Elton John')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
25. "Italian album certifications – Elton John – The Very Best of" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter Elton John in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
26. "Japanese album certifications – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
27. "Spanish album certifications – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Select the "Chart", enter ' in the field "Year". Select ' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
28. NO certyear WAS PROVIDED for SWEDISH CERTIFICATION.
29. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Elton John; 'Very Best of Elton John')". Hung Medien.
30. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1991". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.