The Big Picture (Elton John album)

The Big Picture
Studio album by Elton John
Released 22 September 1997
Recorded Spring–Summer 1997
Genre Pop[1]
Length 52:13
Label
Producer Chris Thomas
Elton John chronology
Love Songs
(1996)		 The Big Picture
(1997)		 Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida
(1999)
Singles from The Big Picture
  1. "Live Like Horses (featuring Pavarotti)"
    Released: 2 December 1996
  2. "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"
    Released: 13 September 1997
  3. "Recover Your Soul"
    Released: 2 February 1998
  4. "If the River Can Bend"
    Released: 1 June 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Entertainment Weekly (C)[2]
Los Angeles Times[3]

The Big Picture is the twenty-sixth studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John, released in 1997. It includes four worldwide singles: "Live Like Horses" (a duet with Luciano Pavarotti only for the single version), "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" (released later also as a double A-side with "Candle in the Wind 1997"), "Recover Your Soul" and "If the River Can Bend".

Background

The album has a strong orchestral emphasis with string arrangements written by Anne Dudley and John's then backup keyboardist Guy Babylon. In 2006, John revealed in an interview that Bernie Taupin, his longtime friend and lyricist, considers this his least favourite album they have created, while John believes that to be Leather Jackets from 1986.[4][4] Taupin dislikes this album because of the overall quality of his lyrical contribution and because "the production is abysmally cold and technical".[4]

The album was dedicated to John's friend, popular fashion designer Gianni Versace, who was murdered a few months before the album's release. This was the last album to date to be produced by Chris Thomas, who had worked with John almost nonstop since 1981's The Fox. This is the only album in which neither Davey Johnstone nor bassist Bob Birch (during his tenure as Elton's bassist from 1992–2012) provide backing vocals. Drummer Charlie Morgan was let go from the band shortly after the album's release and soon replaced by Curt Bisquera and John's old drummer Nigel Olsson, who remains in the lineup to this day.

Production

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

No. Title Length
1. "Long Way from Happiness"   4:47
2. "Live Like Horses"   5:02
3. "The End Will Come"   4:53
4. "If the River Can Bend"   5:23
5. "Love's Got a Lot to Answer For"   5:02
6. "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"   5:13
7. "The Big Picture"   3:45
8. "Recover Your Soul"   5:18
9. "January"   4:02
10. "I Can't Steer My Heart Clear of You"   4:10
11. "Wicked Dreams"   4:39

B-sides

Song Format
"Big Man in a Little Suit" Live Like Horses
"I Know Why I'm in Love" only a part of the country
"You Can Make History (Young Again) Something About The Way You Look Tonight
"No Valentines" Recover Your Soul

Outtakes

"Live Like Horses" was originally recorded in 1994 and intended for Elton's previous studio album, "Made In England" but lack of time for the inclusion ruled this out. The original single version of the song was a duet with Luciano Pavarotti released in 1996, but was performed solo for this album. "Past Imperfect" and an alternate version of "Recover Your Soul" were completed by John for inclusion on The Big Picture. Both songs have yet to see official release.[5]

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 5
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] 3
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[10] 14
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[11] 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[12] 8
European Albums Chart[13] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 4
French Albums (SNEP)[15] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 8
Hungarian Albums (Mahasz)[17] 13
Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 1
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[19] 19
Malaysian Albums (Billboard)[20] 10
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 7
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[22] 2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[23] 5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 3
US Billboard 200[27] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (1997) Position
Australian Albums Chart[28] 61
Austrian Albums Chart[29] 30
Danish Albums Chart[30] 12
Swiss Albums Chart[31] 45
UK Albums Chart[32] 37

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[33] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[34] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[35] Platinum 100,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[36] Gold 21,006*[36]
France (SNEP)[37] Gold 142,800[38]
Italy (FIMI)[39] 3× Platinum 300,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[40] Platinum 50,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[41] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[42] Gold 40,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[43] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[44] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[45] Platinum 1,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[46] Platinum 1,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.allmusic.com/album/r312988
  2. ↑ Lanham, Tom (26 September 1997). "The Big Picture Review". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  3. ↑ Gardner, Elysa (21 September 1997). "ELTON JOHN, "The Big Picture," Rocket/A&M". articles.latimes.com. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Lion King". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  5. ↑ Rocket Man: Elton John From A-Z, 1996 (ISBN 0275956989)
  6. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Elton John – The Big Picture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Elton John – The Big Picture" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Elton John – The Big Picture" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Elton John – The Big Picture" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  10. ↑ "Elton John – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Elton John. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Elton John – The Big Picture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Elton John – The Big Picture" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  13. ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (11 October 1997). Billboard – 11 October – 1997. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Elton John: The Big Picture" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  15. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Elton John – The Big Picture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  16. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  17. ↑ "Archivum: Top 40 Album". MAHASZ (in Hungarian). Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  18. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Elton John – The Big Picture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  19. ↑ "Artist Ranking CD Album". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  20. ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (25 October 1997). Billboard – 25 October – 1997. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  21. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Elton John – The Big Picture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  22. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – The Big Picture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  23. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Elton John – The Big Picture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  24. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – The Big Picture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Elton John – The Big Picture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  26. ↑ "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 11th October 1997". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  27. ↑ "Elton John – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Elton John. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  28. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 1997". aria.com.au. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  29. ↑ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1997". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  30. ↑ TOP20.dk © 1997
  31. ↑ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1997". Swiss Music Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  32. ↑ "UK best albums 1997". Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  33. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  34. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Elton John – Big Picture" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Elton John in the field Interpret. Enter Big Picture in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  35. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – The Big Picture". Music Canada.
  36. 1 2 "Certification Search Results". Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  37. ↑ "French album certifications – Elton John – The Big Picture" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  38. ↑ "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  39. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Elton John – The Big Picture" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter Elton John in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  40. ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – Elton John – The Big Picture" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  41. ↑ "Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados > 1995-1999". Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
  42. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  43. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Elton John; 'The Big Picture')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  44. ↑ "British album certifications – Elton John – The Big Picture". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Big Picture in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  45. ↑ "American album certifications – John, Elton – The Big Picture". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  46. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1997". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
Preceded by
Über alli Bärge by Polo Hofer und die Schmetterband		 Swiss Music Chart number-one album
5 October 1997 		Succeeded by
D frosted by Gotthard
Preceded by
Im Himmel ist die Hölle los! by Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung		 Austrian Chart number-one album
5 October 1997 		Succeeded by
Bridges to Babylon by The Rolling Stones
Preceded by
Be Here Now by Oasis		 European Top 100 number-one album
11 October 1997 		Succeeded by
Bridges to Babylon by The Rolling Stones
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