About three or four years ago I bought a new record player and set out to join the masses of people who collect vinyl these days. I hit up every record store and consignment shop in town over the next few months and had soon grown a collection of over 400 albums which I’m still adding to today. This included an attempt to buy up all of Elton John’s albums. I have 18 so far, but have only listened to about half of those.

Having just read his autobiography, I’ve decided to now give each album a listen and a review here on the blog. I won’t bore you with my diatribe of each song or a ton of statistics. Just the basics. If you have anything to share, feel free to comment.

I’m starting with his 1984 album, Breaking Hearts, which was his 18th studio album. This album had 3 US singles and 1 UK single. It was the last album to feature the original, classic “Elton John Band” due to members changing and also a death. It was also the last time Elton played solo on piano and keyboards. Elton used a backup accompanist on the keyboard in the studio going forward.

Here are the singles:

“Who Wears These Shoes” hit #16 in the US.

“Sad Songs Say So Much” hit #5 in the US.

“Neon” hit #38 in the US.

“Passengers” hit #5 in the UK.

Elton still sang “Sad Songs” on tour for many years to come and he might still (I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing him in concert). He hasn’t sang any of the other songs since the world tour that followed the album’s release according to Wikipedia, but I’m sure that’s true. Other than “Who Wears These Shoes,” most of the album is B side forgetables. I had never even heard “Neon” until I bought this album.

“Breaking Hearts,” the title track of the album should have been released. It’s definitely a hidden gem. “Passengers” is my least favorite song on the whole album. It sounds like an Irish drinking song, which is probably why it did so well in the UK.

The album was certified gold the year of its release, and platinum in 1998.