Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

8. Elton JohnGoodbye Yellow Brick Road

[sings] "When am you gonna come down?" That was a late entry. It was another album that my parents had. It was before I got into Elton John, because I knew of him growing up from ‘I’m Still Standing’. Then I listened to this record, and I was: "Oh my god, this dude smashed America", and he was one of the biggest pop stars around, but I hadn’t discovered how amazing the actual songwriting was, and on that record you really did – each track was so individual. It’s also great to hear how groundbreaking it all was, and how extraordinary his music was. Again, a very varied record that you can’t pin down, but it’s so cohesive in its entirety.

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