Elton John details 'Madman Across The Water' 50th Anniversary reissue

Super Deluxe box coming June 10th

Elton John is set to release Madman Across The Water: 50th Anniversary Edition in four different configurations on June 10th via UMe. A Super Deluxe 3 CD/1 Blu-ray box, 4 LP 180-gram vinyl box, 2 CD and single LP remastered edition will be offered.

The Super Deluxe 3 CD/Blu-ray box features 18 previously unreleased tracks, also containing 1971 reproduction poster and 104-page book, photos and essay with interviews with those who helped make the album, as well as memorabilia and artwork taken from the Rocket Archive. Blu-ray features 5.1 mix, and 1971 Sounds For Saturday (which was taped on November 11, 1971 and broadcast on April 29, 1972) and 1971 Old Grey Whistle Test (which was broadcast on December 7, 1971) performances.

The 4 LP 180-g vinyl box set includes a 40-page booklet with introductions by John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, photos and essay featuring interviews with many who helped make Madman Across The Water, plus a reproduction 1971 reproduction poster, as well as memorabilia and artwork from the Rocket Archive.

The 2 CD set will contain the original album, rarities and demos, includes a 40-page booklet with introductions by John and Taupin, plus essay highlights featuring interviews with many who helped make Madman Across The Water, as well as memorabilia and artwork taken from the Rocket Archive.

A single LP limited edition remaster of Madman Across The Water will be pressed on blue and white-colored 180-gram vinyl.

Spawning the hits “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon,” Madman Across The Water was John’s fourth studio album, released only two years after his debut. Recorded in 1971, it was a foundation stone of what was to become a dazzlingly prolific decade for the global-icon-in-waiting. Madman Across The Water was largely written after John had made his initial foray to America, offering the opportunity for Taupin to witness first-hand the landscapes and people he’d only seen on a screen or on the page. Recorded at Trident Studios in Central London in February and August 1971, it was the first album where all five players of John’s fabled band lineup — Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone, and Ray Cooper — were featured. The album also featured Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who plays Hammond organ on three songs.

A newly unveiled Piano Demo of “Tiny Dancer,” taken from the archives and previously unheard, is available now. Recorded at Dick James Studios in central London in spring 1971, it is an intimate performance of the song with John alone at the piano as a guide for the band later to follow.

While the UK’s love affair with John was on the precipice of exploding upon Madman’s release at the start of the ‘70s, these nine tracks immediately struck a chord with US audiences, reaching the Top 10 of the Billboard album charts. It also spawned two hit singles, “Levon” and “Tiny Dancer,” both reaching the US Top 50. After years as a best-kept secret to John’s fans, “Tiny Dancer” has gone on to become one of his most loved songs with his worldwide fanbase, third only to “Rocket Man” and “Your Song” in global streaming numbers. Capturing the headiness of California at the time of John’s first US concerts, the song was used to phenomenal effect in Cameron Crowe’s classic 2000 film Almost Famous. Both “Levon” and “Tiny Dancer” remain live favorites to this day, taking pride of place in the setlist for John’s record-breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.