Elton John is gearing up to release a huge body of work thanks to the pandemic.
As per Variety, the album is known as The Lockdown Sessions, seeing John having embraced the limitations of lockdown and continuing to do what he loves: make music.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Elton John had no choice but to pause his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
While the ‘Rocket Man’ artist wasn’t able to carry on with the tour, he turned his attention to other projects like his Apple Music show, ‘Rocket Hour’.
On his show, John featured a long lineup of incredible musicians where he enjoyed getting to know them. And it was here that he found the beginning of a bold new adventure.
An announcement for the album says that recording during the pandemic was a first for the artist, however in a way it wasn’t totally foreign.
It reads, “This album saw Elton coming full circle and returning to his roots as a session musician.”
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“While it was no easy feat recording during a pandemic, a completely new way of working for Elton, he leaned into the challenge with some magnificent results.”
John also spoke on the his new album, The Lockdown Sessions. He revealed that the tracks on the new album took him out of his “comfort zone” and “into completely new territory”.
“The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album. But, as the pandemic went on, one‐off projects kept cropping up,” John said.
“Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I’d obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist, but separated by glass screens.”
John continued, “But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory.
He also added that one of the most exciting things he’s realised about all of this, is that in a way he’s kind of come full circle as an artist. “And I realized there was something weirdly familiar about working like this,” he said.
“At the start of my career, in the late ‘60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.”
The album has been recorded over the course of 18 months, seeing collaborations with 20 artists. The Lockdown Sessions is scheduled to release on October 22nd.
For more on this topic, follow the Classic Rock Observer.
See the full track list for ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ by Elton John:
- Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) with Dua Lipa
- Always Love You with Young Thug & Nicki Minaj
- Learn To Fly with Surfaces
- After All with Charlie Puth
- Chosen Family with Rina Sawayama
- The Pink Phantom with Gorillaz and 6LACK
- It’s a sin (global reach mix) with Years & Years
- Nothing Else Matters with Miley Cyrus, WATT, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo & Chad Smith
- Orbit with SG Lewis
- Simple Things with Brandi Carlile
- Beauty In The Bones with Jimmie Allen
- One Of Me with Lil Nas X
- E-Ticket with Eddie Vedder
- Finish Line with Stevie Wonder
- Stolen Car with Stevie Nicks
- I’m Not Gonna Miss You with Glen Campbell
