Record Store Day 2022: The Complete Thom Bell Sessions

Record Store Day 2022 on 23 April marks the first time ‘The Complete Thom Bell Sessions’ has been made available on LP in the UK. Available in 180gm purple vinyl, its six tracks are significant, as they marked the first time Elton recorded without his usual team around him, choosing instead to be produced by legendary Philadelphia soul writer, arranger and producer Thom Bell.

Recorded in 1977, three of the six tracks were released two years later – remixed by Elton and Clive Franks – on a 12” EP. Of those songs, Mama Can’t Buy You Love gave Elton his first US Top Ten hit in three years. In the UK, the EP’s other key track, Are You Ready For Love, was picked up by DJs in the early 00s and became a smash: giving Elton his sixth UK No.1 single in 2003. The original version, on ‘The Complete Thom Bell Sessions’, contains The Spinners adding their unmistakably rich vocals alongside Elton. Other treasures include the first recording of Shine On Through, which was to be the opening track on Elton’s 1978 album A Single Man; the Thom Bell-Bernie Taupin-Elton collaboration Nice And Slow; the joyful Country Love Song and the string-rich showcase Three-Way Love Affair.
‘The Complete Thom Bell Sessions’ were made available in the US in the early 90s, yet not in the UK; RSD 2022 means everyone can now enjoy the full recording session on one soulful LP.

You can get a copy from a participating indie record shop near you on 23 April 2022: