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Like the import CD "The Very Best Of Elton John," the second disc starts off with Elton's number one song with Kiki Dee, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." Whereas that previous collection only went up to 1990, this disc goes up to 2001. It's great to have "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" and "Circle Of Life" from the Lion King, as well as "Written In The Stars" from Aida, on an Elton John compilation. However, I would have included them on the bonus disc to make room for other worthy songs from his regular albums, such as "Nobody Wins," "Blue Eyes," "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" and "Healing Hands," to name a few. The second disc closes out on a strong note with the two best songs from Elton's last album, namely the Lennonesque "I Want Love" and the autobiographical "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore."

The limited edition, bonus disc is another reason for buying this collection. It has Elton's live version of "Candle In The Wind," which peaked at number 6, and his duet with George Michael on "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," which hit number one. "Live Like Horses" is an interesting curiosity, being a duet with Luciano Pavarotti. The last song on the bonus disc was recorded in 2002. It is Elton's duet with Alessandro Safina on "Your Song." Thus, Elton's greatest hits comes full circle, including an incredible selection of fantastic songs in-between the two versions of "Your Song."


Not quite the complete greatest hits you would want   November 13, 2002
 49 out of 59 found this review helpful

Another greatest hits compilation from Elton John, After Greatest Hits, Volume II, Volume III, The Very Best of (Import),1976-1986, Love Songs and One Night Only (The Greatest Hits)-the horrible live album, here comes Greatest Hits 1970-2002. Granted Sir Elton has had a long career filled with ups and downs with a lot of wonderful songs, so let's hear a few other hits. I'm am a huge Elton John fan, having every commerical release and was excited about this purchase as well. The songs on the disc sound wonderful but there are so many hits lacking which is why I gave it only 3 stars. How about a 3rd disc with many other top 20 songs that he had. Where is Blue Eyes, Healing Hands, Empty Garden, Part Time Love and nobody in the US is going to believe that Written in the Stars with LeAnn Rimes was a bigger hit than Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds which doesn't appear here. I think rabid Elton John fans would have loved more material, especially from the down side of his 70's career and 80's comeback. So the songs weren't up to snuff but wouldn't it great to hear even some guilty pleasures for old times sake like Ego, Bite Your Lip, Victim Of Love (well maybe not),Nobody Wins, Chloe, Kiss The Bride, Who Wears These Shoes, Wrap Her Up, A Word In Spanish, Club At The End of The Street, The Last Song and the extremely wonderful and Adult Contempory #1 Simple Life. Look I mentioned 17 songs in this review, easily another full disc of music. Guess we fans will have to burn our own greatest hits from Elton John to get what we really want especially from later in his career.


Some notable omissions but a darn fine collection anyway   June 16, 2004
 44 out of 46 found this review helpful

Yes I realize there is always considerable consternation among collectors about the plethora of "Best of" and "Greatest Hits" packages that are put on the market every year. Some artists simply don't warrant a "Greatest Hits" collection while the music of more important and prolific performers is constantly being repackaged. But if you are someone like me "Elton John Greatest Hits 1970-2002" is a fine value. This collection replaces 3 previous vinyl "Greatest Hits" albums I now own. I will be keeping those vinyl LP's for the tunes that were not included in this particular package.
I must say that Universal has done an outstanding job with the series of anthologies they have released in the past couple of years. This collection offers up 34 of Elton Johns' biggest and best. There is no doubt that everyone will probably quibble about a few of the tracks that were included as well as those that failed to make the cut. But overall, I am quite pleased with this one. Just about all the big ones you would expect to find are included. Among the hits that did not make it are 1979's soulful "Mama Can't Buy You Love" and 2 hits from 1982 "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" and the wonderful "Blue Eyes". The collection comes in a very attractive package that includes a nicely done 40 page booklet. One of the unique features of the booklet is a fold-out section showing all 41 album covers from Elton Johns' fabulous career. The remastering on these tracks is also first rate. Again, if the price of this collection was $29.99 I would be much more critical. But the price is quite reasonable for a collection you are sure to enjoy for years to come. Highly recommended.


Elton John: the REAL King of Pop.   November 17, 2002
 33 out of 35 found this review helpful

With all due respect to Michael Jackson, I always believed that Elton John is more deserving of the title "King of Pop." Both performers have endured their share of artistic and personal ups and downs, but while Jacko has recently morphed into self-parody, Sir Elton still churns out freshly-crafted pop (as evidenced on his excellent "Songs from the West Coast"). I'm excited as the next Elton fan that we now have a double-disc greatest hits album spanning his entire career, but let's be honest: it's not as comprehensive as it could have been. There are enough omissions on this recording to warrant a third disc: "Blue Eyes," "Empty Garden," "A Word in Spanish," "In Neon," "Kiss the Bride," and so forth. Also, the disc completely ignores the albums "Victim of Love" and "Leather Jackets," which is a smart move since both records were easily among his least inspired. But moving on, the material that DOES surface on this collection is, for the most part, mind-blowingly good. Disc 1, which covers the 1970s, is utter perfection, a snapshot of classic, vintage Elton in peak form. "Your Song," "Daniel," "Tiny Dancer," "Somebody Saved My Life Tonight," and "Rocket Man" form ample evidence that Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin were among the best songwriting teams of the 1970s. Disc 2 (which covers 1980-2002) has some good stuff, but it's easily the lesser disc which has some decent tunes as well as a handful of not-so-great ones. "I'm Still Standing" is still a winning tale of perseverence, while "Sad Songs," "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues," and "Little Jeannie" also stand out, too. However, I wasn't a big fan of his work for "The Lion King," and personally wasn't fond of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and "Circle of Life." However, this disc closes on a great note with "I Want Love" and "This Train Don't Stop Here Anymore," which are from 2001's "Songs from the West Coast." The limited edition has 4 tracks; the best of which is the live version of "Candle in the Wind" (NOT the tribute to Princess Diana) and his duet with George Michael "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." Overall, I'm impressed with this hits collection, which comes with some really cool liner notes and nice photographs from his early years. For a one stop guide to Elton's work, "Greatest Hits 1970-2002" is the way to go, warts and all.


Stunningly Comprehensive   February 8, 2003
 29 out of 30 found this review helpful

There's not many artists that have as much as success or that have lasted as long as Elton John has. While not perfect, this album, Greatest Hits 1970-2002, isn't far from it.

The thick booklet contains many pictures of the artist himself and a nice biography of Elton John's music career. Included in this biography are such things as what many of the songs mean and how he and his songwriter, Bernie Taupin, met and bonded through the years musically.

As good as the booklet is, it's not half as great as the music that is encaptured on the two discs in this collection. From the first song of disc one to the last song of disc two, the songs are all in chronological order, all the way from the beginning of the 70's to the ones from recent times. The first disc is as classic as classic can be. From the love songs such as "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", and "Candle In The Wind", to upbeat rockers like "Crocodile Rock" and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", to just plain timeless hits with the likes of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Philadelphia Freedom", the first disc covers six years (1970-1976) of musical greatness.

The second disc may not be quite as strong, but it's almost as great and just as essential. With it you have great more great songs from the late seventies ("Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (With Kiki Dee) and "Little Jeannie"), the eighties ("Sad Songs (Say So Much)", "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues", etc.), and more recent, more underrated pop hits such as "Blessed" and "This Train Don't Stop Here Anymore." Of course, everything in-between such as "The One", "Sacrifice", and the two major Lion King hits are also here to be heard at anytime you please.

With a two-disc compilation that includes not only the great hits that almost any classic rock and adult contemporary radio listener can still hear played these days, but also the more hard to find essentials ("Levon", "Island Girl", "Believe", etc.), how can you go wrong with purchasing this compilation called Elton John Greatest Hits 1970-2002 that barely costs more than a normal single-disc album? The answer is that you can't! There's also an extra compact disc that has the songs, "Candle In The Wind (Live)", "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me" (With George Michael), "Live Like Horses" (With Luciano Pavarotti), and "Your Song" (With Alessandro Safina) to make it even more worthy of your purchase.

Yeah, of course there are a few great songs that didn't find their way onto this compilation, such as "Blue Eyes", "Healing Hands", and more. One I would've really liked to have on the album is "Club At The End of The Street". Nonetheless, this is by far the best Elton John compilation that has ever been made so far. It's surprisingly comprehensive and it's cheap, making it a worthwhile sampler for any casual fan. Get it now, while you can!