The Very Best of Elton John

1990 compilation album by Elton John

Compilation album by

Elton John

Released

1 October 1990

Recorded

1970–1990

Genre

Rock, pop

Length

137:56

Label

Polygram

Producer

Gus Dudgeon, Clive Franks, Chris Thomas, Don Was

Elton John chronology

Sleeping with the Past
(1989)

The Very Best of Elton John
(1990)

To Be Continued...
(1990)

Singles from The Very Best of Elton John

"You Gotta Love Someone"
Released: 8 October 1990
"Easier to Walk Away"
Released: November 1990

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

The Very Best of Elton John is a greatest hits compilation album by English musician Elton John, released in October 1990. His first career-retrospective compilation album, and fourth official greatest-hits album overall, it was released in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe, and in other countries such as Japan and Australia, but not in the United States, where the box set To Be Continued... was released the following month instead.

The compilation spans his second album Elton John in 1970 to Sleeping with the Past in 1989. After the double A-sided "Sacrifice/Healing Hands" single became a hit and the third best-selling single of 1990 in the United Kingdom, the album became an instant smash in that country. It spent its first two weeks at #1 followed by nine weeks at #2, kept there by Madonna's Immaculate Collection. In all, the compilation spent 145 weeks inside the UK top 200 album chart, making a total of 11 re-entries, and it was certified 9× Platinum by the BPI on 1 March 1995.^[2]

It includes a total of 28 hit singles plus the new songs "Easier to Walk Away" and "You Gotta Love Someone", both of which also made the charts between 1990 and 1991. The release also spawned a music video compilation, which was originally released on both laserdisc and VHS, and reissued on DVD.

Track listing

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"Your Song"	Elton John, Bernie Taupin	Elton John, 1970	4:03
2.	"Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be a Long, Long Time)"	John, Taupin	Honky Château, 1972	4:42
3.	"Honky Cat"	John, Taupin	Honky Château	5:15
4.	"Crocodile Rock"	John, Taupin	Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, 1973	3:58
5.	"Daniel"	John, Taupin	Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player	3:56
6.	"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"	John, Taupin	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973	3:17
7.	"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"	John, Taupin	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	4:57
8.	"Candle in the Wind"	John, Taupin	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	3:51
9.	"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"	John, Taupin	Caribou, 1974	5:38
10.	"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"	Lennon–McCartney	Non-album single, 1974	6:17
11.	"Philadelphia Freedom" (Edited version)	John, Taupin	Non-album single, 1975	5:19
12.	"Someone Saved My Life Tonight"	John, Taupin	Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, 1975	6:47
13.	"Pinball Wizard"	Pete Townshend	Tommy soundtrack, 1975	5:16
14.	"The Bitch Is Back"	John, Taupin	Caribou	3:46

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
15.	"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee)	John, Taupin (but credited to Ann Orson/Carte Blanche, respectively)	Non-album single, 1976	4:32
16.	"Bennie and the Jets"	John, Taupin	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	5:21
17.	"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"	John, Taupin	Blue Moves, 1976	3:51
18.	"Song for Guy"	John	A Single Man, 1978	6:41
19.	"Part-Time Love"	John, Gary Osborne	A Single Man	3:16
20.	"Blue Eyes"	John, Osborne	Jump Up!, 1982	3:28
21.	"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"	John, Taupin, Davey Johnstone	Too Low for Zero, 1983	4:46
22.	"I'm Still Standing"	John, Taupin	Too Low for Zero	3:04
23.	"Kiss the Bride"	John, Taupin	Too Low for Zero	3:56
24.	"Sad Songs (Say So Much) (Single Version)"	John, Taupin	Breaking Hearts, 1984	4:11
25.	"Passengers"	John, Taupin, Johnstone, Phineas Mkhize	Breaking Hearts	3:24
26.	"Nikita"	John, Taupin	Ice on Fire, 1985	5:45
27.	"I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That"	John, Taupin	Reg Strikes Back, 1988	4:00
28.	"Sacrifice"	John, Taupin	Sleeping with the Past, 1989	5:08
29.	"Easier to Walk Away"	John, Taupin	Soon to be released on To Be Continued..., 1990	4:25
30.	"You Gotta Love Someone"	John, Taupin	Days of Thunder soundtrack, 1990	5:01

Track 25 is different on European version of the album. "Whispers" from Sleeping with the Past takes the place of "Passengers".
"Pinball Wizard", "The Bitch Is Back", "I Don't Wanna Go on With You Like That" and "Easier to Walk Away" are excised from the vinyl version of the compilation.
The timings are different on the back cover and the actual CD. On Disc 1, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is listed as 6:12, while the actual song runs at 5:38 and "Philadelphia Freedom" runs at 5:42, rather at 5:19. On Disc 2, the back cover shows Song For Guy running at 5:02, but the actual track runs at 6:40 (the album length of the song). The same applies for "Nikita", which the back cover states for 4:53 but the actual song plays at 5:44. "I Don't Wanna Go on With You Like That" is the radio single edit on the CD (4:00) instead of the back cover's album cut listing of 4:33.

B-sides

Song	Format
"Medicine Man"	"You Gotta Love Someone" 7"/12"/CD (UK)
"Medicine Man" (with Adamski)	"You Gotta Love Someone" 12"/CD (UK)
"Made for Me"	"Easier to Walk Away" 12"/CD (UK)
"I Swear I Heard the Night Talkin'"	"Easier to Walk Away" 7"/12"/CD (UK) "You Gotta Love Someone" 7" (France)

Music video compilation

"Your Song" (Top of the Pops 1971 live version)
"Daniel" (Top of the Pops 1973 live version)
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (Top of the Pops 1973 live version)
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee)
"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (BBC Live Christmas Show version)
"Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long Long Time)" (live Wembley 1977 version)
"Blue Eyes"
"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
"I'm Still Standing"
"Kiss the Bride"
"Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
"Passengers"
"Nikita"
"Wrap Her Up"
"Candle in the Wind" (live in Australia 1986 version)
"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (live in Prince's Trust 1987 version)
"I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That"
"Philadelphia Freedom" (live in Verona 1989 version)
"Sacrifice"
"You Gotta Love Someone"

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1990-1991)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[3]	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[4]	1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[5]	5
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)^[6]	3
French Albums (SNEP)^[7]	1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[8]	2
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)^[9]	1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[10]	1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[11]	1
Portuguese Albums (AFP)^[12]	1
Spain (Spanish Albums Chart)^[13]	1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[14]	1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[15]	1
UK Albums (OCC)^[16]	1

Chart (1995-1996)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[17]	28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[18]	17
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[19]	19

Year-end charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[20]	11
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[21]	2
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[22]	79
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[23]	11
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[24]	20
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[25]	5

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[26]	53
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[27]	41

Certifications and sales


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[28]	6× Platinum	420,000^{^}
Austria (IFPI Austria)^[29]	3× Platinum	150,000^*
Belgium (BEA)^[30]	3× Platinum	150,000^*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)^[31]	Gold	100,000^*
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)^[32]	Gold	25,000^[32]
France (SNEP)^[34]	Diamond	2,300,000^[33]
Germany (BVMI)^[35]	2× Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
Italy (FIMI)^[36]	Platinum	450,000^[36]
Netherlands (NVPI)^[37]	2× Platinum	200,000^{^}
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[38]	Platinum	15,000^{^}
Norway (IFPI Norway)^[39]	Platinum	100,000^[39]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[40]	3× Platinum	300,000^{^}
Sweden (GLF)^[41]	Platinum	100,000^{^}
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[42]	4× Platinum	200,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[43]	9× Platinum	2,700,000^{^}
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r471536
^ "British album certifications – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Type The Very Best of Elton John in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Australiancharts.com – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – J". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Elton John from the menu, then press OK.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 12 March 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Elton John".
^ "Charts.nz – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
^ Music & Media, vol. 7, issue 51; December 22, 1990.
^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
^ "Elton John | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
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^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1995". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
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^ "British album certifications – Elton John – The Very Best of Elton John". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Very Best of Elton John in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.