IN SEARCH OF CD BOX SETS - VOLUME VI

A couple of weeks ago I picked up this set at my local record store (Grantski Records). I didn't have any information on it prior to seeing it in the store, but it was four discs of Elton John's music, and it was only ten bucks, so what the heck, I picked it up. I later discovered that it was released in 1990 in the U.S. and was issued with a slightly different track listing the following year in the U.K. The title is Elton John - To Be Continued...

The box itself holds four discs (as previously mentioned) and is one of the large boxes, about the size of an album and about a half inch thick. As you can see from the cover posted above, the artwork consists of a photo collage of Elton and other various stuff.

The back of the box has the track listing. When you open the box, there is a tray that houses the four discs. There is also a flap that lays over the discs and is purple and black with more collage photos. This matches the inside of the box top. The inside of this flap has the track listing for each CD. You can see that in the photo above. The individual CD covers form a picture of Elton John when they are placed in the proper trays. There is also a booklet that sits underneath the flap, on top of the jewel cases.

The booklet contains a biography of sorts as well as an interview conducted with both Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The interview is more interesting than the biography as far as I'm concerned. There is also a track listing and album credits. This all adds up to a serviceable package although it wouldn't rank as a top rate package for me.

As far as the music goes, it is, for the most part, a greatest hits compilation. There are a couple of demos or alternate takes, but only a couple. There were also four new songs recorded for the set. I can't say that any of them are particularly memorable, but they aren't bad. I did discover one song that I had not heard before that I really liked and that was Fanfare/Chloe which was originally on The Fox album. In a nutshell, that's pretty much all that can be said. It truly is a greatest hits compilation. But it was only ten dollars, so I certainly think it's worth that. If you have another EJ greatest hits collection then you really don't need this, unless like me you find it pretty cheap.