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Click Here to read more about The Tom Fontaine Elton John Collection presented in this auction.
Please Note: A portion of the proceeds from sale of the Elton John lots, 229–281, will be donated to The Elton John Aids Foundation.
Elton John's historic 1972 album Honky Chateau was recorded in the Château d’Hérouville, a secluded eighteenth-century castle thirty kilometers north of Paris. This and the other acetate offered in this are auction from recordings made during that legendary recording session. This is the a "Mastering Lab" 45 RPM 10-inch double-sided acetate of the songs "Rocket Man" and "Susie (Dramas)." The songs were recorded at breakneck speed over just a few short days. The band members remember the absolute groove they all settled into, describing their interactions during the sessions as almost "telepathic." They lived and worked in the old castle during the sessions, so they would just stumble down to breakfast and Elton would be starting to create the music for the lyrics he was often just handed by Bernie Taupin's wife that were typed the night before. "Rocket Man," however, had been written just before they arrived in France. The speed with which it came together was astounding the others present. Producer Gus Dudgeon and Davey Johnstone described it this way:
Elton composed “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time)” in ten minutes. “Once he played the first chord, he would immediately sing,” Davey said. “I’ve never really seen anybody else do that.” Gus concurred. “He would start singing and playing at the same time. It was really strange. And if he ever got stuck, if he ever lost his momentum, he’d simply back up a line or two and have another go, till the logjam passed.”
The acetate contains the tracks as they appear on the final album, and each label is marked "STEREO REF." "Susie (Dramas)" is listed as "Pretty Little Black-Eyed Suzie" on the label, no doubt typed out by a mastering tech. The disc presents with only minor wear, with some mild scuffing, mostly in the ample dead wax. Excellent to Mint condition.