The Re-view

Elton vs Pnau: Good Morning To The Night (New Music)

When I was watching Sir Elton John perform at this week’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, my first thought was: ‘When is he going to release another big hit like ‘Are You Ready For Love’?’ Followed by: ‘This is a ropey version of ‘I’m Still Standing”. Followed then by: ‘I still need to see this man live’.

Well, the first point is seemedly addressed by this forthcoming release from the legendary singer songwriter but I don’t think it’s going to be quite the ‘big hit’, that the chart-topping ‘Are You Ready For Love’ was.

‘Good Morning To The Night’ IS though a remix of some of Elton’s greatest and most underrated tracks from his back catalogue. The two most prominent here are the beautiful ‘Mona Lisa’s & Mad Hatters’ from his 1972 LP ‘Honky Château’ and ‘Tonight’ from his 1976 album ‘Blue Moves’.

Alas, if you are also a fan of the originals, it may come as some disappointment to discover that most of the lyrics are edited out for this dancefloor reworking, produced by Australian dance production duo, Pnau.

Pnau who? Well, you may know the pair better for their critically acclaimed side project ‘Empire Of The Sun’, a synth band comprised of Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes.

The duo though first rose to prominence in Australia as Pnau back in 1999 with their debut album ‘Sambanova’. It was their third self-titled album though that grabbed Sir Elton’s attention back in 2007. He worked with the pair on their fourth record ‘Soft Universe’ before then commissioning them to rework some of his greatest hits from his master tape collection for their most recent release.

So came about the ‘Good Morning To The Night’ project. Each of the the eight tracks on the album samples several of the star’s songs, and the title track is a pretty beautiful kick off. This is the kind of dance music that I like. Rather than just heavy beats being hammered home, the focus is on soaring synths and electronica, delivering a blissful and uplifting ambience that is perfectly suited to Elton’s vocals.

Due for release on 16 July, this is another example of how his tracks have an effortlessly timeless quality about them and I hope it introduces a whole new generation to some of his greatest hits that never were.