Classic pop rocker and singer-pianist Sir Elton John has a new album coming up.
Elton recently announced that his new album titled “The Lockdown Sessions” is due for release on October 22.
The new album finds the “Tiny Dancer” singer collaborating with a who’s who listing of music stars that include Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Lil Nas X, Stevie Wonder, Charlie Puth, Gorillaz, Young Thug, Nicki Minaj and Stevie Nicks among others.
Elton met and worked with most of these music stars while working on his Apple Music show Rocket Hour. As evidenced by the song’s album title, the virtuoso pianist and singer worked on the new record in the course of the still ongoing pandemic.
The first single off the album released recently is titled “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)” that features Elton singing with Dua Lipa. The track, a club music mash, is said to combine “elements of John’s 1989 song ‘Sacrifice,’ his 1972 hit ‘Rocket Man,’ his 1976 deep cut ‘Where’s The Shoorah?’ and his 1983 single ‘Kiss The Bride,’” Rolling Stone reports.
Elton John said, “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. 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.”
The conditions that Elton worked on during this project reminded him of his beginnings in the music industry. “I realized there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60’s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during the lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.”
Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour was cut short when the pandemic hit. He picks it up again this September 28th in Copenhagen, Denmark at the Royal Arena. His North American tour begins in January 2022.
Here’s the complete tracklist and featured artists on “Elton John – The Lockdown Sessions.”
1. Elton John & Dua Lipa – “Cold Heart” (PNAU Remix)
2. Elton John, Young Thug & Nicki Minaj – “Always Love You”
3. Surfaces feat. Elton John – “Learn To Fly”
4. Elton John & Charlie Puth – “After All”
5. Rina Sawayama & Elton John – “Chosen Family”
6. Gorillaz feat. Elton John & 6LACK – “The Pink Phantom”
7. Elton John & Years & Years – “It’s a Sin”
8. Miley Cyrus feat. WATT, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo & Chad Smith – “Nothing Else Matters” (also featured on Metallica’s 30th anniversary of the “Black Album”)
9. Elton John & SG Lewis – “Orbit”
10. Elton John & Brandi Carlile – “Simple Things”
11. Jimmie Allen & Elton John – “Beauty In The Bones”
12. Lil Nas X feat. Elton John – “One Of Me”
13. Elton John & Eddie Vedder – “E-Ticket”
14. Elton John & Stevie Wonder – “Finish Line”
15. Elton John & Stevie Nicks – “Stolen Car”
16. Glen Campbell & Elton John – “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”