Elton John Announces Star-Studded Album ‘The Lockdown Sessions’
Elton John has teamed up with his classic-rock peers and modern-day pop and hip-hop phenoms for a star-studded new album, The Lockdown Sessions.
The 16-track record, which includes 10 unreleased songs, came to fruition over the past year and a half, as John was forced to postpone his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour due to the coronavirus pandemic. During his forced downtime, he found himself collaborating with fellow rock royalty such as Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder and Stevie Wonder, as well as superstars several decades his junior including Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa and Lil Nas X.
"The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album," John said in a statement. "But, as the pandemic went on, one‐off projects kept cropping up. Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I’d obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist but separated by glass screens. But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory."
The singer said these diverse collaborations also helped him get back in touch with his roots as a session player. "I realized there was something weirdly familiar about working like this," he explained. "At the start of my career, in the late '60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast."
The Lockdown Sessions will come out on Oct. 22 on CD, cassette, double-LP vinyl and digital formats. You can see the track listing below.
Elton John, 'The Lockdown Sessions' Track Listing
1. Elton John & Dua Lipa – "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)"
2. Elton John, Young Thug & Nicki Minaj – "Always Love You"
3. Surfaces feat. Elton John – "Learn To Fly"
4. Elton John & Charlie Puth – "After All"
5. Rina Sawayama & Elton John – "Chosen Family"
6. Gorillaz feat. Elton John & 6LACK – "The Pink Phantom"
7. Elton John & Years & Years – "It's a sin (global reach mix)"
8. Miley Cyrus feat. WATT, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo & Chad Smith – "Nothing Else Matters"
9. Elton John & SG Lewis – "Orbit"
10. Elton John & Brandi Carlile – "Simple Things"
11. Jimmie Allen & Elton John – "Beauty In The Bones"
12. Lil Nas X feat. Elton John – "One Of Me"
13. Elton John & Eddie Vedder – "E-Ticket"
14. Elton John & Stevie Wonder – "Finish Line"
15. Elton John & Stevie Nicks – "Stolen Car"
16. Glen Campbell & Elton John – "I’m Not Gonna Miss You"