Duets (Elton John album)

Duets
Studio album by
Elton John and various artists
Released23 November 1993
RecordedMarch 1991 – October 1993
Studio
Genre
Length74:39
Label
ProducerVarious (see below)
Elton John chronology
Rare Masters
(1992) 		Duets
(1993) 		The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1994)
Singles from Duets
  1. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
    Released: 2 December 1991
  2. "True Love"
    Released: 8 November 1993
  3. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
    Released: 14 February 1994
  4. "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"
    Released: 2 May 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Calgary HeraldC+[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Music Week[4]
Philadelphia Inquirer[5]

Duets is the first collaboration studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1993. The album debuted at No. 7 in the UK. In the US, it peaked at number 25 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum in January 1994 by the RIAA.

Duets was released on a single CD, a single cassette and also as a double vinyl LP in the UK, with a slightly different running order. It was initially a Christmas project of John's, but that soon grew into an album of its own (Elton John's Christmas Party). The live version of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with George Michael, track number 15 on the album, had already become a UK/US No. 1 hit in 1991. This is one of only 3 albums released between 1983 and 2016 without John's regular guitar player, Davey Johnstone.

Three singles were released from the album in Britain: "True Love" (with Kiki Dee, reached No. 2), "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with RuPaul, reached No. 7), and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (with Marcella Detroit, reached No. 24).

Track listing

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CD edition

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Teardrops" (with k.d. lang)Cecil Womack, Linda WomackGreg Penny4:55
2."When I Think About Love (I Think About You)" (with P.M. Dawn)Attrell CordesP.M. Dawn4:34
3."The Power" (with Little Richard)Elton John, Bernie TaupinPenny, Elton John6:25
4."Shakey Ground" (with Don Henley)Jeffrey Bowen, Al Boyd, Eddie HazelDon Henley3:52
5."True Love" (with Kiki Dee)Cole PorterNarada Michael Walden, Louis Biancaniello3:35
6."If You Were Me" (with Chris Rea)Chris ReaChris Rea4:26
7."A Woman's Needs" (with Tammy Wynette)John, TaupinBarry Beckett5:19
8."Old Friend" (with Nik Kershaw)Nik KershawNik Kershaw4:17
9."Go On and On" (with Gladys Knight)Stevie WonderStevie Wonder5:50
10."Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with RuPaul)John, TaupinGiorgio Moroder5:00
11."Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (with Marcella Detroit)Nickolas Ashford, Valerie SimpsonChris Thomas3:36
12."I'm Your Puppet" (with Paul Young)Spooner Oldham, Dan PennSteve Lindsey3:36
13."Love Letters" (with Bonnie Raitt)Edward Heyman, Victor YoungDon Was4:01
14."Born to Lose" (with Leonard Cohen)Ted DaffanLindsey4:33
15."Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (live, with George Michael)John, TaupinGeorge Michael5:48
16."Duets for One"John, Chris DiffordJohn, Penny, Stuart Epps4:52
Total length:74:39

LP edition

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWithLength
1."Teardrops"k.d. lang4:55
2."When I Think About Love (I Think About You)"P.M. Dawn4:34
3."The Power"Little Richard6:25
4."Shakey Ground"Don Henley3:51
Total length:19:45
Side two
No.TitleWithLength
1."True Love"Kiki Dee3:34
2."If You Were Me"Chris Rea4:26
3."A Woman's Needs"Tammy Wynette5:18
4."Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (Live)George Michael5:46
Total length:19:04
Side three
No.TitleWithLength
1."Old Friend"Nik Kershaw4:15
2."Go On and On"Gladys Knight5:50
3."Don't Go Breaking My Heart"RuPaul5:00
4."Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"Marcella Detroit3:36
Total length:18:41
Side four
No.TitleWithLength
1."I'm Your Puppet"Paul Young3:36
2."Love Letters"Bonnie Raitt4:01
3."Born to Lose"Leonard Cohen4:33
4."Duets for One" 4:52
Total length:17:02

Personnel

[edit]

Information is based on the album’s liner notes:[6]

Technical personnel

  • Producers – Barry Beckett, P.M. Dawn, Stuart Epps, Don Henley, Elton John, Nik Kershaw, Steve Lindsey, George Michael, Giorgio Moroder, Greg Penny, Chris Rea, Chris Thomas, Don Was, Narada Michael Walden and Stevie Wonder.
  • Associate Producer on "True Love" – Louis Biancaniello
  • Executive Producers – Steve Brown, Ray Cooper and Elton John.
  • Production Supervision – Greg Penny
  • Production Coordination – Stephanie Andrews (9), Debra Johnson (1, 3, 4, 10), Julie Larson (12, 14), Janice Lee (5), Carrie McConkey (13), Cynthia Shiloh (5), Toby Taibi (4), Kevin Walden (5), Lisa Louie and Connie Pappas-Hillman and Sam Stell.
  • Engineers – Jim Champagne, Ed Cherney, Mark Evans, Mike Fossenkemper, David Frazer, Ron Jacobs, Jon Ingoldsby, Paul McKenna, David Nicholas, Csaba Petucz, Brian Reeves, Marc Reyburn, Matt Still, Gabe Veltri, Frank Wolf and Enrico De Paoli.
  • Assistant Engineers – Van Arden, Dominick Barbera, Dan Bosworth, Jim Champagne, Todd Childress, Shaun de Ego, Jim DeMain, Billy Gabor, John Hendricksen, Amy Hughes, Steve Holroyd, Pete Lewis, Charles Paakkari, Thomas Rickert, Rail Jon Rogut, Brian Scheuble, Matt Still and Ben Wallach.
  • Mixed by Van Arden, Ed Cherney, Mike Fossenkemper, David Frazer, Jon Ingoldsby and Bill Schnee.
  • Mix Assistants – Dominick Barbera, Todd Childress, Steve Holroyd and Matt Still.
  • Mix Consultant – Chris Lang
  • Recorded at Ocean Way Recording, Conway Recording Studios and Capitol Studios (Hollywood, CA); A&M and Wonderland Studios (Los Angeles, CA); Tarpan Studios (San Rafael, CA); Soundtrack Studios (New York City, NY); Bosstown Recording Studio (Atlanta, GA); Woodland Studio (Nashville, TN); Sol Studios (Cookham, Berkshire, UK), The Town House (London, UK), Olympic Studios (Barnes, West London) and Wembley Arena (Wembley Park, London).
  • Mixed at Ocean Way Recording, Soundtrack Studios, A&M Studios, Tarpan Studios, Wonderland Studios, The Townhouse; Schnee Studio (North Hollywood, CA); Skip Saylor Recording (Los Angeles, CA); Record One (Sherman Oaks, CA); Metropolis Studios (Chiswick, West London).
  • Digital Editing – Pete Fausone and R.R. Harlan
  • Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
  • Photography – Brian Aris, Brad Branson, Mark Contratto, Paul Cox, Robert Goldstein, Stephen Harvey, Dominique Issermann, Harry Langdon, Sophie Muller, Hideo Odia, Albert Sanchez, Randee St. Nicholas, Allan Titmuss, Albert Watson and Firooz Zahedi.

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Duets
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[25] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[26] Platinum 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[27] Platinum 100,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[28] Platinum 80,000^
France (SNEP)[29] 2× Gold 200,000*
Japan — 30,000[30]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[31] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[32] Platinum 50,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[34] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[36] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (23 November 1993). "Duets - Elton John | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  2. ^ Obee, Dave (28 November 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "John, Elton". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2,003. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. ^ Jones, Alan (27 November 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums — Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 19. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  5. ^ Wood, Sam (23 November 1993). "Elton John and Friends; Classic Jazz; Pop for Films". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  6. ^ John, Elton (1993). Duets (Album Liner Notes) (Media notes). The Rocket Record Company.
  7. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Elton John – Duets". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Elton John – Duets" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2346". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Elton John – Duets" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  11. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – Duets" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 20 August 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Elton John".
  14. ^ "Charts.nz – Elton John – Duets". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – Duets". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – Duets". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Elton John – Duets". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Albums 1993" (PDF). Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 25. Retrieved 21 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
  22. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1994". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1994". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  25. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1993 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  26. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Elton John – Duets" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  27. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Duets". Music Canada. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Lot 114 – Bernie Taupin Elton John Duets Danish "Platinum" CD Record Award – Julien's Auctions". Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  29. ^ "French album certifications – Elton John – Duets" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  30. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  31. ^ Scapolo, Dean (2007). The Complete New Zealand Music Charts: 1966–2006. Maurienne House. ISBN 978-1-877443-00-8.
  32. ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  33. ^ Lot 83 – Bernie Taupin Elton John Duets Spanish "Platinum" CD Record Award – Julien's Auctions at the Wayback Machine (archived 23 August 2020)
  34. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Duets')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  35. ^ "British album certifications – Elton John/Various – Duets". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  36. ^ "American album certifications – Elton John – Duets". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
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