The Big Picture (Elton John album)

The Big Picture
Studio album by Elton John
Released 22 September 1997
Recorded Spring-Summer 1997
Genre Adult contemporary
Length 52:13
Label Rocket Records
A&M Records (US)
Mercury Records
Producer Chris Thomas
Elton John chronology
Love Songs
(1996)		 The Big Picture
(1997)		 Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida
(1999)
Singles from The Big Picture
  1. "Live Like Horses (feat. Pavarotti)"
    Released: 2 December 1996
  2. "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"
    Released: 13 September 1997
  3. "Recover Your Soul"
    Released: 2 February 1998
  4. "If the River Can Bend"
    Released: 1 June 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly (C) [2]
Los Angeles Times [3]

The Big Picture is the twenty-sixth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1997. It includes four worldwide singles: "Live Like Horses" (a duet with Luciano Pavarotti only for the single version), "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" (released later as a double A-side with "Candle in the Wind 1997"), "Recover Your Soul", and "If the River Can Bend". The album has a strong orchestral emphasis with string arrangements written by Anne Dudley and John's then backup keyboardist Guy Babylon. In 2006, John revealed in an interview that Bernie Taupin, John's longtime friend and lyricist, considers this his least favourite album they have created, while John believes that to be Leather Jackets from 1986.

The album was dedicated to Elton John’s friend, popular fashion designer Gianni Versace, who was murdered a few months before the album's release. This was the last album to date to be produced by Chris Thomas, who had worked with John almost nonstop since 1981's The Fox. This is the only album in which neither Davey Johnstone nor Bassist Bob Birch provide backing vocals. Drummer Charlie Morgan was let go from the band shortly after the album's release and soon replaced by Curt Bisquera and Elton John's old drummer Nigel Olsson, who remains in the lineup to this day.

Contents

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John/Bernie Taupin

No. Title Length
1. "Long Way from Happiness"   4:47
2. "Live Like Horses"   5:02
3. "The End Will Come"   4:53
4. "If the River Can Bend"   5:23
5. "Love's Got a Lot to Answer For"   5:02
6. "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"   5:09
7. "The Big Picture"   3:45
8. "Recover Your Soul"   5:16
9. "January"   4:02
10. "I Can't Steer My Heart Clear of You"   4:10
11. "Wicked Dreams"   4:39

Outtakes

The original single version of "Live Like Horses" was a duet with Luciano Pavarotti in 1996, but was performed solo for this album. "Past Imperfect" and an alternate version of "Recover Your Soul" were completed by Elton John for inclusion on The Big Picture. Both songs have yet to see official release.[4]

B-sides

Song Format
"Big Man in a Little Suit" "Recover Your Soul" CD (US, UK, AU)
"I Know Why I'm in Love" "Recover Your Soul" CD (US, UK, AU) and a bonus track on Japan editions of The Big Picture
"No Valentines" "Recover Your Soul" [Single edit] CD (UK)
"You Can Make History (Young Again)" "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind 1997" CD (US/UK)

Personnel

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1997) Position
Australian Top 50 Albums[5] 5
Austrian Top 75 Albums[6] 1
Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums[7] 10
Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums[8] 3
Canadian Albums Chart[9] 14
Finnish Top 40 Albums[10] 4
French Top 200 Albums[11] 4
German Top 10 Albums[12] 8
Hungarian Top 40 Albums[13] 13
Japanese Albums Chart[14] 19
Netherlands Top 100 Albums[15] 8
New Zealand Top 50 Albums[16] 7
Norwegian Top 40 Albums[17] 2
Swedish Top 60 Albums[18] 2
Swiss Top 100 Albums[19] 1
UK Albums Chart[20] 3
US Billboard 200[9] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (1997) Position
Australian Albums Chart[21] 61
Austrian Albums Chart[22] 30
Swiss Albums Chart[23] 45
UK Albums Chart[24] 37

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[25] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[26] Gold 25,000x
Canada (Music Canada)[27] Platinum 100,000^
Finland (IFPI Finland)[28] Gold 21,006*[28]
France (SNEP)[29] Gold 142,800[30]
Norway (IFPI Norway)[31] Platinum 50,000*
Sweden (GLF)[32] Gold 40,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[33] Platinum 50,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[35] Platinum 1,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[36] Platinum 1,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r312988
  2. ^ Lanham, Tom (1997-09-26). "The Big Picture Review". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,289570,00.html. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  3. ^ Gardner, Elysa (1997-09-21). "ELTON JOHN, "The Big Picture," Rocket/A&M". articles.latimes.com. The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1997/sep/21/entertainment/ca-34515. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  4. ^ Rocket Man: Elton John From A-Z, 1996 (ISBN 0275956989)
  5. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (ASP). Australian Charts. Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  6. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (in German) (ASP). Austrian Charts. Hung Medien. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  7. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (in Dutch) (ASP). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  8. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (in French) (ASP). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  9. ^ a b "Big Picture – Elton John". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/elton-john/the-big-picture/261425. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  10. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (ASP). Finnish Charts. Hung Medien. http://finnishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  11. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (in French) (ASP). Les Charts. Hung Medien. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  12. ^ "Chartverfolgung – JOHN, ELTON: The Big Picture" (in German). Music Line. Media Control Charts. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/JOHN%2C+ELTON/The+Big+Picture/longplay. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  13. ^ "Archivum: Top 40 Album" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. http://mahasz.hu/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=archivum&lista=top40&ev=1997&het=43&submit_=Keresés. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  14. ^ "Artist Ranking CD Album" (in Japanese). Oricon Style. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/49457/ranking/cd_album/. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  15. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (in Dutch) (ASP). Dutch Charts. Hung Medien. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  16. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (ASP). New Zealand Charts. Hung Medien. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  17. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (ASP). Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  18. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  19. ^ "Elton John – The Big Picture (Album)" (ASP). Swiss Charts. Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=The+Big+Picture&cat=a. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  20. ^ "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 11th October 1997". The Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/1997-10-11/. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  21. ^ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 1997". aria.com.au. Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-albums-1997.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  22. ^ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1997". Hung Medien. http://austriancharts.at/1997_album.asp. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  23. ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1997". Swiss Music Charts. Hung Medien. http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=1997. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  24. ^ "UK best albums 1997". http://uktop40.republika.pl/najlep%20sprzalbumy%20uk%201997.html. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  25. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-1997.htm. 
  26. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Elton John – Big Picture" (in German). IFPI Austria. http://www.ifpi.at/?section=goldplatin.  Enter Elton John in the field Interpret. Enter Big Picture in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  27. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – The Big Picture". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=The+Big+Picture&sa=Elton+John&smt=0. 
  28. ^ a b "Certification Search Results". Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/kultalevyt/haku/?q=Elton&national=0&type=album. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  29. ^ "French album certifications – Elton John – The Big Picture" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-259165-CERTIFICATIONS.html?year=1997&type=8. 
  30. ^ "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. http://www.infodisc.fr/CDCertif_O.php?debut=1500. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  31. ^ "Norwegian album certifications – Elton John – The Big Picture" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. http://www.ifpi.no/sok/lst_trofeer_sok.asp?type=artist. 
  32. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (in Swedish) (PDF). IFPI Sweden. http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/guld-platina-1987-1998.pdf. 
  33. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Elton John; 'The Big Picture')". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=Elton+John+The+Big+Picture. 
  34. ^ "British album certifications – Elton John – The Big Picture". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter The Big Picture in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  35. ^ "American album certifications – John, Elton – The Big Picture". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22The+Big+Picture%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  36. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1997". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat1997.html. 
Preceded by
Im Himmel ist die Hölle los! by Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung		 Austrian Chart number-one album
5 October, 1997		 Succeeded by
Bridges to Babylon by The Rolling Stones
Preceded by
Über alli Bärge by Polo Hofer und die Schmetterband		 Swiss Music Chart number-one album
5 October, 1997		 Succeeded by
D frosted by Gotthard
Elton John
Studio albums
Live albums
Soundtracks
Compilations
Tours
Residency shows
Video releases
Tribute album
Musicals
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