Elton John was one of those artists to whom I grew up a bit, but exclusively through the 2-cd 'very best of' that my parents had, so while I know only some of the originals that are re-done here, I know the ones that I know very well. And, seeing as this set's made up entirely of contemporary country acts - there's a companion 'pop' one that I haven't listened to - unsurprisingly I also know some but not all of the artists on here.
So, honestly, for the songs I do know, these melodies are just so good that it's hard to muck them up, and I do especially like Little Big Town's "Rocket Man" (spacious), Don Henley and Vince Gill's "Sacrifice" (lazy in a good way) and Lee Ann Womack's "Honky Cat" (a good trick - kind of sparse and funky like the original, but different-sounding at the same time); Dierks Bentley's "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" is nice but a bit too similar to Elton John's own cut of it.
And others that have grabbed me: Chris Stapleton's "I Want Love" (slow and sentimental), Kacey Musgraves's "Roy Rogers" (helped along by her recent favourite-ness status over here, but I think I would've liked its winsome lilt regardless; it reminds me of Kirsty MacColl, who I hadn't realised had sunk in to that degree), Rhonda Vincent and Dolly Parton's "Please" (which is extremely bluegrass!), Rosanne Cash and Emmylou Harris's "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" (it sounds like a classic, although probably most anything dueted by those two would).
So, honestly, for the songs I do know, these melodies are just so good that it's hard to muck them up, and I do especially like Little Big Town's "Rocket Man" (spacious), Don Henley and Vince Gill's "Sacrifice" (lazy in a good way) and Lee Ann Womack's "Honky Cat" (a good trick - kind of sparse and funky like the original, but different-sounding at the same time); Dierks Bentley's "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" is nice but a bit too similar to Elton John's own cut of it.
And others that have grabbed me: Chris Stapleton's "I Want Love" (slow and sentimental), Kacey Musgraves's "Roy Rogers" (helped along by her recent favourite-ness status over here, but I think I would've liked its winsome lilt regardless; it reminds me of Kirsty MacColl, who I hadn't realised had sunk in to that degree), Rhonda Vincent and Dolly Parton's "Please" (which is extremely bluegrass!), Rosanne Cash and Emmylou Harris's "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" (it sounds like a classic, although probably most anything dueted by those two would).
