Although he had made a number of re-recordings of popular songs for a budget record label in the late '60s, Empty Sky was the first true solo album Elton John recorded after leaving Bluesology; it also marked the beginning of his long and fruitful collaboration with lyricist Bernie Taupin.
Empty Sky is quite indicative of the post-Sgt.
Pepper's era.
With its ambitious arrangements and lyrics, it's clear that John and Taupin intended the album to be a major statement.
Though it shows some signs of John's R&B roots, most of the album alternates between vaguely psychedelic rock and Taupin and John's burgeoning pop songcraft, capped off by a bizarre reprise of brief moments of all of the songs on the record.
There aren't any forgotten gems on Empty Sky, but it does suggest John's potential.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Empty SkyElton John, Bernie Taupin | Elton John | Play | 08:30 | 19 MB | 45 MB |
| 2 | Western Ford GatewayElton John, Bernie Taupin | Elton John | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | Hymn 2000Elton John, Bernie Taupin | Elton John | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Lady What's TomorrowElton John, Bernie Taupin | Elton John | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 5 | SailsElton John, Bernie Taupin | Elton John | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 6 | The ScaffoldElton John, Bernie Taupin | Elton John | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 7 | Skyline PigeonElton John, Bernie Taupin | Elton John | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 8 | Valhalla | Elton John | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 9 | Gulliver/Hay Chewed | Elton John | Play | 07:00 | 16 MB | 38 MB |
| 41 mins | 94 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 226 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Brown | Producer |
| 2 | Steve Brown | Producer |
| 3 | Gus Dudgeon | Liner Notes |
| 4 | Don Fay | Flute, Sax (Tenor), Wind |
| 5 | Clive Franks | Tape Operator, Whistle (Human) |
| 6 | Jim Goff | Sleeve Producer |
| 7 | Elton John | Composer, Harpsichord, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric), Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 8 | Tony Murray | Bass, Guitar (Bass) |
| 9 | Nigel Olsson | Drums |
| 10 | Frank Owen | Engineer |
| 11 | Frank Owens | Engineer |
| 12 | Roger Pope | Drums, Percussion |
| 13 | Caleb Quaye | Congas, Drums, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 14 | Bernie Taupin | Composer |
| 15 | Graham Vickery | Harmonica |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |