Elton John says putting together his 'Jewel Box' made him "appreciate how lucky I have been"

Posted By: Staff
November 13, 2020 @ 2:00 pm
Music News

UMe

UMeIn 2017, Elton John released a greatest hits album called Diamonds, and today, he’s giving us the whole Jewel Box. The eight-CD set is so chock full of material that Elton thinks his cupboards are bare, musically speaking.

“It’s a very beautifully-produced box set, and I don’t think there’s anything left in the tank after this!” he says in an “unboxing” video in which he shows off the lavish package. “But it’s got all the stuff that you would probably want.”

That “stuff” includes a whopping 148 tracks in all, including four CDs’ worth of album tracks that Elton loves but was never able to perform, and a huge collection of demos, B-sides and rarities that date back to the very start of a more than 50-year writing partnership with Bernie Taupin.

“The thing I love about it is, it traces us from the very humble beginnings when we were so young, to the present day, when we’re so old!” Elton jokes. “But we still have our enthusiasm. We still have our love of what we do, and we have a love of you, the fans.”

The tracks cover Elton’s entire career, from 1965 to 2019, ending with his Oscar-winning duet with Taron Egerton, “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” from his Rocketman biopic.

In a statement to ABC Audio, Elton says of the project, “Putting together Jewel Box allowed me to rediscover and reminisce on so many important times in my life and really made me appreciate how lucky I have been to have a career that has lasted over 50 years and still going!”

He adds, “There are so many amazing songs on Jewel Box and I can’t wait for my fans to listen and enjoy them as much as I did making them.”