The songs are gorgeous. Love songs are ususally sappy and pointless, but the ones here aren't. Elton finds every bit of soul and depth in them and sings them for all they're worth. The musicianship on the album is equally top calibre. There's a reason this guy's been around for so long -- he's a genuine talent who speaks to people of all ages. I love listen to this CD after a hard day. It helps me unwind. Makes perfect background music, and the songs are great to sing along to.

So why not 5 stars? The two new songs, and the two Lion King songs, while good, aren't quite the calibre of some of the other pieces. Still, if you consider yourself a fan of mellow music in general, or Elton John in particular, you can't go wrong with this one.


15 Good Songs   June 29, 2001
D.L. (Hamilton, Ontario Canada)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

There are many Elton best ofs on the market and this is just another one to add to the list. This is like a suit that you wear for a certain occassion. You take what you already own and rearrange it. If you are an Elton John fan then you probably have all the songs in different locations. I own the originals on lps,and started buying the best ofs to recollect. Getting back to Love songs though, bottom line is that you most likely would like to have these songs arranged as they are here. A nice mix of old and new tunes. I didn't hesitate to buy this cd because all the songs are excellent on their own. Good value.


Mellow Elton John   June 19, 2002
Lonnie E. Holder (Columbus, Indiana, United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

If you enjoy Elton John and like his mellow music best, you've found your CD. Most of the hits on this solidly pop CD were top 40 hits, many of them top 10 and a few were #1's. Because Elton John has had mellow songs from the beginning of his career, this music covers the time frame from the beginning of his popularity in the US (1969) to 1996. The music is all excellent, even the two sometimes-reviled hits from "The Lion King".

Two of the songs on this CD are new, "You Can Make History (Young Again)" and "No Valentines". Both are good songs that show how easily Elton John can churn out listenable music.

I strongly believe that Elton John has the ability to write elevator music for hours a day if that was his interest. Fortunately the orchestration and skill that he puts into his mellow music frequently elevates it to the level of excellent, and thus suitable to be top 40 music. Elton has more talent on his off days than most current musicians on their best days, and this CD shows much of that talent.

Five of the 15 songs are from the "classic years": "Daniel", "Someone Saved My Life Tonight", "Your Song", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", and "Candle in the Wind". Of these, two are remakes: "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a live duet with George Michael that was a hit for both in the early 90s, and a live version of "Candle in the Wind" recorded at a concert in Australia in the late 80s. Both are very good versions of the originals, which says a lot because I normally am not a fan of live music recorded for CD.

The eight songs remaining after the two new songs cover the period from 1976 to 1995. Of these, five ("The One", "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", "Believe", "Blessed", and "Circle of Life") were released from 1992 to 1995. The remaining three ("Sacrifice", "Blue Eyes" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word") were released during the years that Elton John battled drug and alcohol addictions, and was not at his talented peak. Achieving so many creative peaks in the 90s after the relative drought from 1976 to 1991 once again shows the amount of incredible talent this one man has.

Nearly all of these songs are pop classics to some degree. If you are an Elton John fan and have a lot of his music, you may pass this CD by. However, I have many of his CDs and I purchased it because of the collection of mellow music which often fits my mood. If you are new to Elton John and like quiet, mellow music, then you should absolutely buy this CD; it is a great introduction to Elton John. After you have this CD, then go back and look for his music from the early to mid-70s, and most of his CDs released since 1992. You will be amazed and pleased at the ability of a man whose career spanned 36 years at the time this was written.


A Mellow Best Of Elton John Collection   December 1, 2001
John Kwok (New York, NY USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is a compilation of some of Elton's most beloved tunes from the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's, featuring his collaborations with Bernie Taupin and Tim Rice. If you're looking for an essential Elton John CD, then this might be it, though frankly, you'd be missing a lot of his great material. Among the highlights on this collection is his live version of "Candle In The Wind" from his 1980's live album produced in Australia. Not to be missed either are his tunes with Tim Rice, "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", and especially, "Circle Of Life". Given the mellow nature of these selections, I am a bit surprised that neither of his hits with lyricist Gary Osborne, "Little Jeannie" and "Blue Eyes", appear in this compilation.


Great Compilation of Heartfelt Standards   August 2, 2004
B. Mullis (South Carolina)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

"Love Songs" is essentially a greatest hits album released in 1996 in the guise of a concept compilation. A better title would have been "Ballads," as not all of these really qualify as love songs. Regardless, the song selection is superb, spanning Elton's entire career (to that point) and evoking fond emotional responses listen after listen.

Even if you're one who doesn't normally pick up compilation LPs, it's a good one to have for the two "Lion King" recordings, plus the two previously unreleased compositions "You Can Make History (Young Again)" and "No Valentines." Overall, a wonderful collection of classic ballads for any collection. No matter who you are, you probably love some of these (and even know a few by heart).

A parting word - the 4/29/04 review by "A music fan" is the kind of stuff that makes me fume. Of course you mind, or else you wouldn't have found that a news flash-worthy item. To our informative friend: Elton John was not fully aware of his true sexuality until the late 80s/early 90s, and so a good many of these were not written about "gay love" at all. For instance, "Daniel" was about a Vietnam vet who wanted to escape the attention of being a war hero. Others yet were written for a film ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "Circle of Life"), about the artist's joy in creating music ("Blessed"), or about being rescued from a suicide attempt by a true friend ("Someone Saved My Life Tonight"). Please know what you're talking about before you give us such a note-worthy warning again.