Elton John to reissue ‘Honky Château’ for 50th-anniversary
To mark the 50th anniversary of his fifth studio album, Honky Château, Elton John will be reissuing a special deluxe edition of the record, out March 24th. The album, widely considered one of his best, features iconic tracks such as ‘Rocket Man’ and ‘Honky Cat’.
The album, released May 19th, 1972, took its name from the 18th century Château d’Herouville just outside of Paris, where it was recorded. Upon its release in the US, John scored his first of seven consecutive number-one albums. Sonically, the album mixes rock, blues, soul and country.
In 1975, the album’s producer Gus Dudgeon shared: “We took so many gambles, and when it turned out the way it turned out, I just could not believe it. It was the first album that the whole band played on…from then on, Elton could go on stage and say, ‘This is my band, this is my album, this is what it’s about.'”
The reissue is available in various formats, including a Black 2LP and 2CD edition. A standard version of the album without the demos has been pressed on rare gold vinyl.
On the deluxe edition of the vinyl record, a collection of nine demos is included, such as ‘Mellow’, ‘Slave’ (an alternative fast version), ‘Salvation’ and ‘Rocket Man’. However, on the CD version, listeners can also find John’s performance at The Royal Festival Hall in London on February 5th, 1972, where the songs from Honky Château were played live for the first time.
The album also boasts a booklet of exclusive photographs, memorabilia and essays written by those involved in the album’s recording. To accompany the release, fans can purchase T-shirts, mugs, or lithographs, also available in bundles.
John is currently on his ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour, which has been named the highest-grossing tour of all time. He will be playing until July, stopping off at Glastonbury to headline the festival.
Watch the Honky Château reissue trailer below.
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