Greatest Hits 1970–2002

Greatest Hits 1970-2002
Greatest hits album by Elton John
Released 11 November 2002
Recorded 1970–2002
Genre Rock
Length 156:46
Label UTV
Elton John chronology

Songs from the West Coast
(2001)		 Greatest Hits 1970–2002
(2002)		 Peachtree Road
(2004)

Greatest Hits 1970–2002 is a career-spanning collection of Elton John's biggest hits up to 2002. It was released in an alternate 3-CD version (as opposed to the usual 2-CD) and slightly different versions in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 12 on 30 November 2002. It spent 67 weeks on the chart. It was certified gold and platinum in December 2002, 2x platinum in March 2003, 3x platinum in August 2004 and 4x and 5x platinum in February 2011 by the RIAA.

It was the first Elton John compilation released since the time that PolyGram, which had controlled the pre-1976 Elton John catalogue, was sold to Universal Music Group, which controlled the post-1976 recordings. Prior to 1992, rights to John's music had been complicated as they shifted between various companies. UMG now owns worldwide distribution rights to all of John's music, while sharing overall ownership with John himself.

The CD omits the #1 Adult Contemporary hit "Mama Can't Buy You Love" from The Thom Bell Sessions (top 10 in 1979).

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin unless otherwise noted.

European release

Disc 1
No. TitleAlbum Length
1. "Your Song"  Elton John 4:03
2. "Tiny Dancer"  Madman Across the Water 6:16
3. "Honky Cat"  Honky Château 5:13
4. "Rocket Man"  Honky Château 4:42
5. "Crocodile Rock"  Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player 3:55
6. "Daniel"  Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player 3:54
7. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"  Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 4:54
8. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"  Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 3:14
9. "Candle in the Wind"  Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 3:50
10. "Bennie and the Jets"  Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 5:23
11. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"  Caribou 5:37
12. "The Bitch Is Back"  Caribou 3:45
13. "Philadelphia Freedom" (1990 edit)Elton John's Greatest Hits Volume II 5:20
14. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"  Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy 6:45
15. "Island Girl"  Rock of the Westies 3:43
16. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee)Elton John's Greatest Hits Volume II 4:35
17. "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"  Blue Moves 3:52
Disc 2
No. TitleAlbum Length
1. "Blue Eyes" (with Gary Osborne)Jump Up! 3:29
2. "I'm Still Standing"  Too Low for Zero 3:03
3. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" (with Taupin, Davey Johnstone)Too Low for Zero 4:44
4. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"  Breaking Hearts 4:50
5. "Nikita"  Ice on Fire 5:45
6. "Sacrifice"  Sleeping with the Past 5:06
7. "The One"  The One 5:53
8. "Kiss the Bride"  Too Low for Zero 4:23
9. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (written by Tim Rice)The Lion King 4:02
10. "Circle of Life" (written by Tim Rice)The Lion King 4:52
11. "Believe"  Made in England 4:47
12. "Made In England"  Made in England 4:50
13. "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"  The Big Picture 5:09
14. "Written in the Stars" (featuring LeAnn Rimes, written by Rice)Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida 4:17
15. "I Want Love"  Songs from the West Coast 4:36
16. "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore"  Songs from the West Coast 4:39
17. "Song for Guy"  A Single Man 6:46

Bonus disc version

No. TitleAlbum Length
1. "Levon"  Madman Across the Water 5:23
2. "Border Song"  Elton John 3:23
3. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (7" edit) (Lennon–McCartney)Elton John's Greatest Hits Volume II 5:57
4. "Pinball Wizard" (Pete Townshend)Tommy 5:17
5. "True Love" (featuring Kiki Dee (Cole Porter))Duets 3:34
6. "Live Like Horses" (single version) (featuring Luciano Pavarotti)The Big Picture 5:08
7. "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That"  Reg Strikes Back 4:32
8. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (featuring George Michael)Duets 5:48
9. "Your Song" (featuring Alessandro Safina)Non-album single 4:24

On post 2003 re-issues, "Kiss the Bride" and "Song for Guy" were omitted from the 2-disc edition to make room for recent hits "Are You Ready for Love" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (with Blue). On the bonus disc edition, the two newer hits are appended at the end of disc 3.

American release

Disc 1
  1. "Your Song"
  2. "Levon"
  3. "Tiny Dancer"
  4. "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)"
  5. "Honky Cat"
  6. "Crocodile Rock"
  7. "Daniel"
  8. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
  9. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
  10. "Candle in the Wind"
  11. "Bennie and the Jets"
  12. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
  13. "The Bitch is Back"
  14. "Philadelphia Freedom" (edit)
  15. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
  16. "Island Girl"
  17. "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"
Disc 2
  1. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee)
  2. "Little Jeannie" (John, Osborne)
  3. "I'm Still Standing"
  4. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
  5. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
  6. "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That"
  7. "Nikita"
  8. "Sacrifice"
  9. "The One"
  10. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"
  11. "Circle of Life"
  12. "Believe"
  13. "Blessed"
  14. "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"
  15. "Written in the Stars" (with LeAnn Rimes)
  16. "I Want Love"
  17. "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore"

Bonus disc version

  1. "Candle in the Wind" (live)
  2. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (with George Michael)
  3. "Live Like Horses" (with Luciano Pavarotti)
  4. "Your Song" (with Alessandro Safina)

Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
Irish Albums Chart[1] 8
Italian Top 20 Albums[2] 13
New Zealand Top 40 Albums[3] 8
Norwegian Top 40 Albums[4] 6
Spanish Albums Chart[5] 10
UK Albums Chart[6] 3
US Billboard 200[7] 12
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Australian Top 50 Albums[8] 6
Austrian Top 75 Albums[9] 19
Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums[10] 8
Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums[11] 30
Danish Top 40 Albums[12] 2
French Compilations[13] 3
German Albums[14] 19
Japanese Albums Chart[15] 45
Netherlands Top 100 Albums[16] 14
Swedish Top 60 Albums[17] 12
Swiss Top 100 Albums[18] 12
Chart (2005) Peak
position
US Catalog Albums[7] 12
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Spanish Top 100 Albums[19] 80

Certifications

Country Provider Certification
(sales thresholds)
Argentina CAPIF Gold[20]
Australia ARIA Platinum[21]
Austria IFPI Gold[22]
Brazil ABPD Gold[23]
Canada Music Canada 4x Platinum[24]
Denmark IFPI Platinum[25]
Europe IFPI 2x Platinum[26]
France SNEP Gold[27]
Germany BVMI Gold[28]
New Zealand RIANZ 2x Platinum[29]
Norway IFPI Platinum[30]
Switzerland Swiss Music Charts Gold[31]
United Kingdom BPI 5x Platinum[32]
United States RIAA 5x Platinum[33]

References

  1. ↑ http://irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Elton+John. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Italian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  3. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). New Zealand Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  5. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  6. ↑ "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 23rd November 2002". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Greatest Hits 1970–2002 – Elton John". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  8. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Australian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Italian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  10. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  11. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  12. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Danish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  13. ↑ "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé" (PHP). InfoDisc (in French). Find "Elton JOHN" under the drop-down menu to see statistics.
  14. ↑ "Chartverfolgung / JOHN, ELTON / Longplay". Music Line (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  15. ↑ "Artist Ranking CD Album". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  16. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  17. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  18. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Schweizer Hitparade. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  19. ↑ "Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970–2002 (Album)" (ASP). Spanish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  20. ↑ "Certification Search Results" (ASP). Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  21. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  22. ↑ "Gold & Platin". IFPI Austria (in German). Type "Greatest Hits 1970-2002" under Titel to see search results.
  23. ↑ "Certificados" (ASP). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (in Portuguese). Search for "Elton John" to see search results.
  24. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Database Search Results" (ASPX). Music Canada. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  25. ↑ "Album Top–40: Uge 27 – 2004" (ASP). Hitlisten (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  26. ↑ "Gold & Platin". IFPI (in German). Type "Greatest Hits 1970-2002" under Titel to see search results.
  27. ↑ "Les Certifications depuis 1973" (PHP). InfoDisc (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Find "JOHN E." on the drop-down menu to see certifications.
  28. ↑ "Gold- /Platin-Datenbank" [Gold- /Platinum-Database]. Bundesverband Musikindustrie (in German). Type "Greatest Hits 1970-2002" under Titel to see search results.
  29. ↑ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.
  30. ↑ "IFPI Norsk Platebransje". IFPI Norway (in Norwegian). Greatest Hits 1970–2002 was certified platinum in 2003.
  31. ↑ "Awards 2002". Swiss Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  32. ↑ "Certified Awards Search" (ASPX). British Phonographic Industry.
  33. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database" (PHP). Recording Industry Association of America.