Comments for John, Elton, The Complete Thom Bell Sessions

These sessions are noteworthy for the fact that some of the best vocals Elton has ever laid down are found here. The production is, as would be imagined with veteran R''n''B producer Thom Bell at the helm, very soulful and reminicent of mid to late ''70''s AM radio R''n''B. Some of the material isn''t exactly top notch, but when the idea works, it REALLY works. The two undisputed standout tracks are "Shine On Through" and the single released from the sessions,"Mama Can''t Buy You Love."

Released in the USA between "Reg Strikes Back" and "Sleeping With The Past,""The Complete Thom Bell Sessions" was in many ways a re-issue of a 12" single(EP in other parts of the world,) released in 1979 called simply "The Thom Bell Sessions."This complete album was released in the US only to my understanding, and is treatedas an import here in Canada. Unlike the sister 12" of so many years ago, this albumcontains three other previously unreleased tracks. Unfortunately, the version of "Are YouReady For Love?" is much different on this album than the original 12": this version isa duet with (I`m guessing here...) Thom Bell himself. The original 12" is rare, and it containsthe better version of the song, so try and find it as well as this album.